A New York City jury ruled on Tuesday that former president Donald Trump is liable of sexually abusing and defaming, but not raping, writer E. Jean Carroll, as reported by the New York Times. Carroll, a former columnist for Elle magazine, will be awarded $5 million in damages.
In November 2019, Carroll filed a civil suit against Trump citing battery and defamation, accusing him of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s and defaming her in a Truth Social post last year in which he called the case “a complete con job” and “a hoax and a lie.” The jury, composed of six men and three women, determined after three hours of deliberation that Trump sexually abused and defamed Carroll, but it could not be proven that he had raped her.
Trump, who is gearing up to campaign for the 2024 presidential election, has denied all wrongdoing in the case. Though he has been at the center of many sexual misconduct allegations, Carroll’s case marks the first time Trump has been found liable of any accusations in court. Since the case was civil, no criminal charges were brought against Trump and he did not face any criminal punishment, but will instead be ordered to pay Carroll damages.
However, Trump is currently facing criminal charges as a Manhattan grand jury indicted him on 34 felony counts of fraud in March. The charges are for falsifying business records in connection to a hush-money scheme involving porn star Stormy Daniels. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.