Jury finds Donald Trump sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll, awards her $5m

Former United States President Donald Trump sexually abused E Jean Carroll, a writer, in a New York department store changing room 27 years ago, a New York jury has found.

The decision officially labels a former US president as a sexual predator for the first time.

However, because it stems from a civil case rather than a criminal one, Trump will only be subject to monetary fines.

The jury awarded Carroll $5 million for battery and defamation.

Carroll filed the lawsuit last November under the “New York state adult survivors act,” a state bill that opened a look-back window for sexual assault allegations with long-expired statutes of limitation.

The writer said Trump raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store and then defamed her when he denied her claim, suggesting she made up the story to boost sales of her book.

She said he led her into a dressing room under the guise of trying on a bodysuit he intended to buy for another woman.

Carroll said she saw no problems with following him to the lingerie store because she was “absolutely enchanted” by Trump’s amusing chatter.

However, the situation “turned absolutely dark” soon, she added.

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

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

Carroll said she could not escape Trump’s grip, adding that he raped her.

Trump, on his social media site Truth Social, called the jury’s verdict a “total disgrace” and said it was “continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time”.

He reiterated that he did not know who Carroll was.

Trump, who announced his re-run bid for presidency, is the subject of multiple investigations into his conduct before, during, and after his first term as president.

The investigations include allegations of fraud by his family business, his role in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, and the stashing of classified documents at his residence at Mar-a-Lago.

Recently, the former president was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

He was also found guilty of a payout to Stormy Daniels, an adult actress, in an attempt to buy her silence over an alleged affair.