A federal jury in New York has ruled that former President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll, a journalist and former advice columnist who accused him of raping her in a department store in the mid-1990s.
The jury of six men and three women awarded Carroll $5 million in damages on Monday, after deliberating for less than three hours.
They found that Trump committed battery against Carroll by forcibly kissing and groping her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury store in Manhattan. They also found that Trump defamed Carroll by calling her a liar and implying that she fabricated the story to sell her book.
Carroll, who wrote the popular “Ask E. Jean” column for Elle magazine for 26, first made the allegations against Trump in her 2019 memoir, What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal. She said that Trump attacked her in late 1995 or early 1996, when they ran into each other at the store and he asked her to help him pick out a gift for a woman. She said she tried to fight him off, but he overpowered her and penetrated her.
Trump, who was not present at the trial and did not testify, has denied the allegations. He said he never met Carroll, even though there is a photo of them together at a party in 1987. He also said she was not his type, and suggested she made up the story to boost sales of her. In October 2022, he posted a statement on his website accusing Carroll of being part of a “radical left” conspiracy to smear him.
Carroll sued Trump for defamation and battery in November 2022, under the New York State Adult Survivors Act, which allows victims of sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits even if the statute of limitations has expired. She did not specify an amount in her lawsuit, but asked for monetary damages and a retraction of Trump’s statement.
Carroll celebrated the verdict on Monday, saying she was “overjoyed” and “grateful” to the jury. She also thanked her lawyers and supporters for standing by her.
“This is for every woman who has ever been harassed, assaulted, silenced or spoken up,” she said outside the courthouse. “This is for you.”
Trump’s lawyers said they would appeal the verdict, calling it “a travesty of justice” and “a politically motivated attack” on the former president. They also claimed that Carroll had no evidence to support her claims, and that Trump had a right to express his opinion about her allegations.