{"slug":"e-jean-carroll-sexual-assault","title":"E. Jean Carroll Sexual Assault and Decades of Sexual Misconduct Allegations","date":"1996-01-01","lastUpdated":"2024-01-26","description":"In May 2023, a federal jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. In January 2024, a second jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in defamation damages for Trump's repeated false denials. Carroll is one of more than two dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct spanning decades.","summary":"E. Jean Carroll first publicly accused Trump of rape in 2019; the legal case was delayed by Trump's claims of immunity as president. In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse (not rape under New York's technical definition) and defamation. In January 2024, a second jury awarded $83.3 million in damages for Trump's continuing defamatory statements. Trump called Carroll's account 'a made up Fake story' and said she was 'not my type.'","category":"civil-rights","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/09/nyregion/trump-carroll-verdict.html","title":"Jury Finds Trump Liable for Sexual Abuse and Defamation in E. Jean Carroll Case","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-carroll-defamation-verdict-83-million-9e7b1fa4deef56dae4b1f6f2cd9c5b43","title":"Jury orders Trump to pay $83.3 million in E. Jean Carroll defamation case","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2023/trump-sexual-misconduct-allegations/","title":"The 26 women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65531943","title":"E. Jean Carroll: Trump found liable for sexual abuse and defamation","publisher":"BBC News"},{"url":"https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2022cv10016/575786/111/","title":"Carroll v. Trump — Verdict","publisher":"U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["sexual-assault","defamation","E-Jean-Carroll","pre-presidency","women","accountability"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1996-01-01","title":"Sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll","summary":"E. Jean Carroll, then a well-known advice columnist, encounters Trump at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. According to her account, confirmed by a jury in 2023, he pins her against the wall in a dressing room and sexually assaults her."},{"date":"2005-10-01","title":"Access Hollywood tape recorded","summary":"Trump is recorded bragging to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush: 'I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the pussy.'"},{"date":"2016-10-07","title":"Access Hollywood tape published","summary":"The Washington Post publishes the Access Hollywood tape. Trump calls his statements 'locker room banter.' Over a dozen women come forward in the following days with accounts of unwanted touching or assault by Trump."},{"date":"2019-06-21","title":"Carroll publishes her account","summary":"E. Jean Carroll publishes her account of the Bergdorf Goodman assault in New York Magazine. Trump denies it, calls her a liar, says she is 'not my type,' and claims he has never met her — a claim contradicted by a photograph showing them together at a social event."},{"date":"2019-09-24","title":"Carroll sues for defamation","summary":"Carroll files a defamation suit over Trump's public denials. The case is repeatedly delayed as Trump's attorneys argue he is immune from civil suit as a sitting president."},{"date":"2022-11-01","title":"PREP Act immunity argument fails","summary":"The DOJ under Biden abandons a controversial position taken under AG Barr that Trump's denial was made in the scope of his official duties as president, which would have substituted the U.S. government as defendant and provided immunity."},{"date":"2023-05-09","title":"Jury finds Trump liable — awards $5 million","summary":"A federal jury in New York finds Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages. The jury finds Trump committed sexual abuse but not rape under New York's technical legal definition, which requires penetration."},{"date":"2024-01-26","title":"Second jury awards $83.3 million for ongoing defamation","summary":"A second jury awards Carroll $83.3 million in damages for Trump's continuing defamatory statements about her made after the first verdict — calling her allegations 'a complete con job' and a 'made up Fake story' at a CNN town hall and on social media."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY","lat":40.7637,"lng":-73.9712},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"potential","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women","article":"Article 2","provision":"States must ensure practical realization of the principle of equality of men and women — including accountability for sexual violence by public figures"},{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 7","provision":"Prohibition on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment — sexual assault constitutes such treatment"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"E. Jean Carroll; over 25 additional women who have publicly alleged sexual misconduct by Trump","structuredVictims":[{"name":"E. Jean Carroll","group":"Advice columnist","status":"Sexually abused by Trump per jury verdict; defamed repeatedly; awarded $88.3 million in two trials"}],"structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Real estate developer (at time of assault); later President of the United States","institution":"Trump Organization / White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2024-01-26","summary":"Updated with $83.3 million defamation verdict."},{"date":"2023-05-09","summary":"Updated with sexual abuse liability verdict."}]}}