'E Jean Carroll': Trump sexually abused writer at NYC department store

'E Jean Carroll': Trump sexually abused writer at NYC department store

Former President Donald Trump was found guilty of sexually abusing a magazine columnist at a New York department store in the 1990s by a jury in a civil lawsuit.

But Mr. Trump was cleared of any wrongdoing for raping E Jean Carroll in the Bergdorf Goodman dressing room.

Because Mr. Trump called the writer's allegations "a hoax and a lie," the jury also found him to be responsible for defamation.

It is the first occasion that Mr. Trump has been adjudicated to have committed a sexual assault.

A Manhattan jury mandated that Mr. Trump pay the woman $4 million in damages.

Tuesday's jury, which was comprised of six men and three women, decided after less than three hours of discussion.

After the verdict, Ms. Carroll released a written statement in which she said that "today, the world finally knows the truth." "This victory is not just for me, but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed."

According to Mr. Trump's attorney, the former president intends to fight the ruling.

Mr. Trump won't be required to register as a sex offender because the trial took place in a civil court rather than a criminal one.

The two-week lawsuit trial in the Manhattan federal court was not attended by the former president, who has refuted Ms. Carroll's allegations.

Ms. Carroll, 79, beamed as the jury granted her damages and clutched the hands of both of her attorneys as the verdict was read aloud in court.

As the trial came to a close, Mr. Trump's attorney, Joe Tacopina, shook her hand and wished her success.

In a statement, the plaintiff's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said: "This is a victory not only for E Jean Carroll, but for democracy itself, and for all survivors everywhere."

I have absolutely no idea who this woman is, Mr. Trump, 76, wrote on his social media platform Truth Social after the judgment.

"This decision is a disgrace and a continuation of history's biggest witch hunt,"

Jurors merely had to decide that Mr. Trump's assault on Ms. Carroll was more likely than not since the burden of proof for civil suits is lower than for criminal prosecutions.

The jury held Mr. Trump responsible for molesting Ms. Carroll and defaming her, but they did not find him responsible for raping her. The jury would have needed to be persuaded that Mr. Trump had had extramarital sex with Ms. Carroll for this to have happened.