A New York jury on Tuesday held Donald Trump responsible for sexually abusing and defaming an American former magazine columnist, awarding her $5 million in damages.
Following less than three hours of deliberation, the nine jurors in the highly watched civil trial dismissed E. Jean Carroll’s rape accusation but unanimously accepted her other charges.
It is the first time Trump has faced legal ramifications for a spate of sexual assault allegations extending back decades, and the former president quickly dismissed the conviction as a “disgrace.”
Carroll, 79, filed a lawsuit against Trump last year, saying that he raped her in the changing room of the posh Bergdorf Goodman store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in 1996.
The former Elle magazine columnist also alleged that Trump defamed her when he labeled her “a complete con job” after she made the allegation public in 2019.
Trump, the 76-year-old Republican leader in next year’s presidential race, labeled her case a “hoax” and “a lie.”
Carroll was granted $2 million after the jury concluded that she had proven sexual abuse – effectively sexual contact without consent — by a preponderance of the evidence.
The jury of six men and three women also agreed that Trump should pay Carroll about $3 million for defamation.
Carroll smiled as she exited the Manhattan federal court, but she did not talk to reporters.
“We’re very happy,” said her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan.
Trump slammed the outcome on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“I have absolutely no idea who this woman is,” he wrote, using all capital letters. “This verdict is a disgrace — a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.”
Trump’s 2024 campaign said in a statement that the case was a “political endeavor” to undermine Trump’s reelection bid, and that he would appeal.
Carroll testified during the two-week civil trial that the assault had left her “ashamed” and unable to establish intimate connections.
She claimed it took her more than two decades to speak up because she was “frightened” of Trump.
Her attorneys invited two additional women to testify that Trump sexually attacked them decades ago.
Former entrepreneur Jessica Leeds claimed Trump touched her in the business class section of a flight in the 1970s.
– P*rn Star Case –
During the proceedings, Trump did not testify, nor did his defense team bring any witnesses.
The jury was shown a video of a sworn deposition he gave in October. In it, Trump referred to Carroll as “a liar” and a “really sick person.”
Carroll’s lawyers said that he made up the charge “for money, political reasons, and status.”
She filed her claim under a New York legislation that gives victims of sexual assault a one-year window to sue their alleged perpetrators decades after the event.
In civil processes, the burden of proof is lower than in criminal trials, where prosecutors must establish their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was one of numerous legal challenges challenging Trump’s effort to reclaim the presidency — despite the fact that Republican supporters have been largely faithful to their candidate up until now.
Trump pled not guilty last month to criminal charges stemming from a hush-money payment made to a porn star just before the 2016 election to cover up an affair.
Trump is also being investigated for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia, his alleged mismanagement of confidential information obtained from the White House, and his involvement in the January 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol by his supporters.
