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Alderwoman Ruth Phillips, who goes by Ruth Cole in public office, faces one misdemeanor charge of assault connected to the incident Wednesday. 

Phillips was drinking with the alleged victim when she became verbally aggressive and then attacked, Riverview Police Officer Curtis Mayes wrote in a probable cause statement. 

Phillips hit the victim in the chest with a lawn chair, poured alcohol over the person's head and then grabbed the victim by the back of the neck, Mayes said. The victim had marks and bruises that matched her description of the assault. 

Phillips could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. 

She is the second elected official in Riverview currently facing criminal charges. 

Mayor Mike Cornell was charged in January with nine felony charges for sexual abuse, harassment and possession of child pornography.

Cornell, mayor since 2023, was the subject of a Nov. 2 Post-Dispatch report detailing allegations he abused his public office to enrich himself, sexually harass employees and retaliate against his critics over the past three years. 

Prosecutors say Cornell, 39, sexually abused two minors and an adult man and sexually harassed a fourth victim over the course of the last ten years. Authorities also said they found a video of two male juveniles engaged in sexual acts on Cornell's phone.

A judge has ordered Cornell be held on a $1 million cash-only bail after hearing victims' statements that they feared he would retaliate against them if he were released.

Two more alleged victims of sexual misconduct have come forward since Cornell's arrest, prosecutors have said.