New York Jury Rules Donald Trump Sexually Abused Writer E Jean Carroll

On Tuesday, a jury in New York ruled that advice columnist E Jean Carroll was sexually assaulted by Donald Trump in a New York City department store changing room 27 years ago.

This judgment officially labels the former United States president as a sexual predator for the first time. However, since this is the result of a civil rather than criminal action, the only penalty Trump will face is a monetary one.

The court instructed the jury that there were two components necessary to find sexual abuse. That Trump forcibly had sexual contact with Carroll without her consent and that he did so to satisfy his sexual urges.

The jury took less than three hours to reach a verdict. It concluded that Trump was responsible for sexual abuse but did not conclude that Trump had raped Carroll.

About $2 million was paid on the sexual abuse count, and close to $3 million was given for defamation, for labelling her a liar.

The judge in the emotionally charged case, Lewis A. Kaplan, ordered the courtroom to be quiet before rendering a judgment, "No jumping up and down. No race for the door.”

As she was being driven away from the courthouse following the verdict, Carroll stated, "We're very happy."

Republican attorney and Trump critic George Conway, who tweeted Carroll's encouragement to file suit, said, "God bless E Jean Carroll and congratulations to Roberta Kaplan [Carroll's attorney] and her team for a job well done."

Trump used his Truth Social platform to say: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. The verdict is a disgrace – a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.”

He confused a photo of Carroll working for his company with one of his second wife, Marla Maples, in his deposition, which was made public last week.

On Tuesday, Trump's legal team released a statement calling the case "bogus" and promising to appeal "and... ultimately win."

Politically, Trump has made the most of his legal problems by dramatically increasing his lead in polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. However, he is in increasingly jeopardous legal straits.

During the 2016 election, Trump paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels, and he was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business documents in New York last month.

There is a federal investigation of Trump's conduct in the run-up to the 2020 election, including his provocation of an assault on the US Capitol, and it appears that he may face criminal charges for his attempts to reverse the election in Georgia.

The concealment of classified materials at his Florida mansion is also being looked into by a federal special counsel. Trump is being sued in New York State civil court over his financial dealings and tax obligations.

For three days, Carroll testified about what happened in a New York City department store changing room in 1996, and the jury, which consisted of three women and six males, voted in favour of Carroll.

According to Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina, Carroll's comments would be used to contradict her assertion that the former Elle magazine columnist collaborated with pals to falsely charge the former president because they "hated" Trump and his politics. Unfortunately, after seven days of testifying, he accomplished neither.

According to Carroll's testimony, the attack rendered her incapable of intimate partnerships. After she went public about the incident in 2019, she said that Trump had "shattered my reputation" by denying it, and Elle promptly fired her a few months later. After Carroll's first day of hearing, Trump claimed a "made up SCAM" to justify his previous accusations that she was lying.

During the trial, Carroll testified that she and Trump had a chance encounter while they were both exiting the Bergdorf Goodman store one spring evening in 1996.

She recalled that he had said, "I need to buy a gift, come help me." She said she was delighted.

Carroll claimed that she had proposed a hat or purse, but that he had shown no interest.

"I know, lingerie," he responded. “He led the way to the escalator.”

It was the lingerie department, and Carroll was "absolutely enchanted" and "delighted" to visit. She said that Trump "snatched up" a bodysuit and insisted she wear it.

“I had no intention of putting it on. I said, ‘You put it on, it’s your colour’,” she said.

According to Carroll, Trump allegedly recommended they both try it on and then gestured towards the fitting room. She stated she took it all to be a joke. But quickly, the atmosphere changed.

“He immediately shut the door and shoved me up against the wall. He shoved me so hard my head banged. I was extremely confused,” she said.

According to Carroll, things "turned absolutely dark."

"He leaned down and pulled down my tights," she recalled. “I was pushing him back. It was quite clear I didn’t want anything else to happen.”

She gently and softly revealed that Trump had assaulted her.

To this day, Carroll says she deeply regrets agreeing to walk into the dressing room with Trump. She sobbed as she said the rape had ended her sex life and she couldn't even bring herself to smile at a man she was attracted to anymore.

The prosecution heard from two of Carroll's acquaintances who said she confided in them shortly after the incident, but only after they pledged to keep their silence.

Tacopina's nearly two days of cross-examination of Carroll were filled with challenging questions. The attorney probed her behaviour during and after the attack, wondering why she didn't scream or contact the police and why she waited more than 20 years to denounce Trump in public.

Carroll, however, responded with assurance and credibility to the questions, explaining that the fact that she couldn't name a single reason why she wasn't shouting did not prove that she was lying.

"One of the reasons women don't come forward is because they're always asked, 'Why didn't you scream?' Some women scream. Some women don’t. It keeps women silent,” she said.

Even though she recommended doing so in her Elle column, Carroll said she felt too "ashamed" to report the incident.

“I was born in 1943. I’m a member of the silent generation. Women like me were taught to keep our chins up and to not complain. I would never call the police about something I am ashamed of.”

"I was never going to talk about what Donald Trump did," she said.

But as the #MeToo movement gained momentum and women all around the United States shared stories of sexual assault and harassment, she felt compelled to speak out.

Carroll also sued Trump for defamation because she believed he would acknowledge that their encounter was voluntary rather than completely deny it.

“It hit me and it laid me low because I lost my reputation. Nobody looked at me the same. It was gone. Even people who knew me looked at me with pity in their eyes, and the people who had no opinion now thought I was a liar and hated me,” she said.

Carroll claimed that she thinks Trump is "evil" and a "terrible" president, but that political affiliation had nothing to do with her decision to sue.

“I’m not settling a political score. I’m settling a personal score,” she said.

Her voice broke as she was asked if she regretted criticising Trump after learning of the fallout.

“I regretted this about 100 times but, in the end, being able to get my day in court finally is everything,” she said.