A Manhattan jury on Tuesday found former President Donald J. Trump liable for the s£x¥al ab¥se and d£famation of the magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in a New York department store changing room 27 years ago.
Carroll was awarded her $5 million in damages in a widely watched civil trial that sought to apply the accountability of the #MeToo era to a dominant political figure.
According to the Guardian,the verdict for the first time legally brands a former US president as a s£xual pr£d@tor. But as it is the result of a civil not criminal case, the only legal sanction Trump will face is financial.
In explaining a finding of s£xual ab¥se to the jury, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, the judge said it had two charges. That Trump subjected Carroll to s£x¥al contact without consent by use of f%rce, and that it was for the purpose of s£xual gratification.
The jury included three women and six men who were persuaded by Carroll’s testimony over three days, describing events that took place in a New York department store changing room in 1996.
Carroll testified that the att@ck left her unable to have a romantic relationship. She said Trump “sh@ttered my reputation” by denying the att@ck when she went public in 2019, after which Elle sacked her in months. Trump repeatedly called Carroll a li@r, including after her first day of testimony when he claimed a “made up sc@m”.
Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, said he would use Carroll’s own words to disprove her allegation, showing the former Elle magazine columnist conspired with friends to falsely accuse the former president because they “h@ted” Trump and his politics.
But in seven days of testimony, he failed to do either. The jury deliberated for less than three hours. It did not find Trump r@ped Carroll, but did find him liable for s£xual ab¥se.
It awarded about $5m in compensatory and punitive d@mages: about $2m on the s£xual ab¥se count and close to $3m for def@mation, for branding her a li@r.
