{"slug":"trump-pre-presidency-e-jean-carroll-sexual-assault","title":"E. Jean Carroll: Jury Finds Sexual Abuse and Defamation; $83.3 Million Damages","date":"1996-01-01","lastUpdated":"2024-01-26","description":"In May 2023, a federal jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, awarding $5 million in damages. Carroll had accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. In a January 2024 defamation retrial, a second jury awarded an additional $83.3 million in damages after Trump's continued public attacks on Carroll. Trump appealed both verdicts.","summary":"Carroll, a longtime advice columnist, alleged Trump attacked her in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan in approximately 1996. Trump denied knowing her and described her as 'not my type.' The jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexual abuse (not rape, under the definition in New York law at the time) and defamation, awarding $5 million. After Trump continued publicly attacking Carroll following the verdict, she filed a second defamation suit; in January 2024, a jury awarded $83.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages — one of the largest defamation awards in U.S. history. Multiple other women made similar allegations; Trump denied all.","category":"civil-rights","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/26/nyregion/trump-carroll-verdict.html","title":"Jury Awards E. Jean Carroll $83.3 Million in Defamation Case Against Trump","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/26/trump-carroll-verdict/","title":"Trump ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in defamation case","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-e-jean-carroll-defamation-verdict","title":"Jury awards E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages against Trump","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/09/nyregion/trump-carroll-verdict.html","title":"Jury Finds Trump Liable for Sexual Abuse and Defamation","publisher":"The New York Times"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Carroll","sexual-assault","defamation","civil-rights","pre-presidency","civil-verdict","post-presidency"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1996-01-01","title":"Alleged assault in Bergdorf Goodman dressing room","summary":"Carroll alleges Trump attacked her in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan. She does not report the incident at the time, which she later says was because she feared not being believed."},{"date":"2019-06-21","title":"Carroll publicly accuses Trump in New York magazine","summary":"Carroll publicly accuses Trump of sexual assault in an excerpt from her book published in New York magazine. Trump denies knowing her and calls her 'not my type.' Carroll files a defamation suit over these statements."},{"date":"2023-05-09","title":"Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation — $5M","summary":"A federal jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding $5 million in damages. Judge Kaplan notes the finding is 'tantamount to finding rape' in common understanding."},{"date":"2024-01-26","title":"Second jury awards $83.3 million for post-verdict defamation","summary":"A federal jury awards E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages for Trump's continued public attacks on her after the May 2023 verdict — one of the largest defamation awards in U.S. history."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"E. Jean Carroll, sexually abused and subsequently subjected to years of public attacks funded through Trump's political organization","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Primary defendant; found liable for sexual abuse and defamation; continued publicly attacking Carroll after verdict, generating additional $83.3M in damages","institution":"Post-presidency / Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2024-01-26","summary":"Updated with January 2024 defamation verdict."}]}}