US ex-president Donald Trump committed sexual abuse, according to a jury, when he assaulted former journalist Jean Carroll almost 30 years ago. She sued him in a civil lawsuit in New York, accusing him of rape and defamation. On Tuesday, a nine-member jury awarded the plaintiff a total of five million dollars (CZK 106 million) in damages, Reuters reported.
Carroll claims Trump raped her in a dressing room at a New York department store in 1996. The jury concluded that this was not proven, but that Trump sexually abused Carroll at the time. Sexual abuse is defined in New York state law as sexual contact without prior consent. According to the jury, the politician also committed defamation when he wrote on his social network Truth Social last year that Carroll’s rape claims in her book were lies and fraud.
“I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a scandal – a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network after the verdict. A spokesman for his campaign said Trump would appeal the verdict, according to Reuters. The former president did not testify in court and claimed that Carroll had falsely accused him.
Carroll did not comment on the outcome of the proceedings, she left the courtroom smiling without speaking to reporters, The New York Times wrote.
The jury, consisting of six men and three women, deliberated on the matter for three hours, and its conclusion is, according to American media, a major complication for Trump’s efforts to win the Republican nomination for the presidential election next year. It will damage his reputation and also the financial compensation that the politician has to pay is quite significant. The jury awarded Carroll two million dollars in damages for sexual misconduct and approximately $3 million for defamation.
The former Elle magazine columnist is one of more than 20 women who have publicly accused Trump of various forms of sexual harassment or violence. However, for the first time ever, a court was dealing with some of the accusations. Compensation for damages can be claimed in civil proceedings, but the court does not decide, for example, on a prison sentence as in criminal proceedings.
