NY.- A jury found former President Donald Trump responsible for the sexual abuse of writer E. Jean Carroll on Tuesday.
The federal jury, of six men and three women, also held the 76-year-old Trump responsible for defaming the woman when he posted a statement on his Truth Social website in October, calling her case “a complete swindle” and “a deceit and a lie”.
The jury rejected Carroll’s claims that she was raped, but found Trump responsible for sexually assaulting her.
Sexual assault is defined in New York as subjecting someone to sexual contact without their consent. The jury awarded Carroll, 79, a total of $5 million in damages.
The unanimous jury verdicts came after three hours of deliberation in the US District Court in Manhattan. His findings are civil, not criminal, meaning Trump has not been convicted of any crimes and does not face jail time.
For his part, the former President described the jury’s verdict as “a continuation of the witch hunt.”
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE (Sic),” he said from his social network, Truth Social.
(It is) A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
