After deliberating for a few hours, a New York jury gave an expected verdict that will have an impact on the election campaign for the presidency of the United States: Donald Trump, now the favorite candidate of the Republican Party, was found guilty of having sexually abused a writer in the fitting room of a New York store and must pay her US $ 3 million in compensation.
Writer E. Jean Carroll, now 79, accused Trump of raping her in a fitting room at the famed Bergdorf Goodman store in New York in the '90s and sued him in a civil lawsuit for rape and defamation in Manhattan federal court. The statute of limitations had expired due to the passage of time.
The trial had begun two weeks ago and, although Trump said at one point that he could attend, he did not show up but sent a video to defend himself. She said she was not seeking money but restoring "his good name."
After hearing closing arguments on Monday, the jury, consisting of 6 men and three women, decided that the former president was guilty and should pay him for the damages caused.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, during the trial of Donald Trump. Photo Reuters
The writer's version
Days ago, Carroll had offered in the room his version of what would have happened decades ago. Questioned by one of her lawyers, the writer replied: "I'm here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn't happen," she said. "He lied and destroyed my reputation, and I'm here to try to get my life back."
Carroll, who was then a fashion advice columnist for Elle magazine, told jurors he ran into Trump as he left the Bergdorf store after work.
She said he asked her for help selecting a gift for a woman. "I love giving advice, and here was Donald Trump asking me for advice on how to buy a gift," Carroll testified. "It was a wonderful prospect for me."
They headed to the lingerie section, where Trump found a bodysuit and ordered her to "put this on." She refused and told him he should wear it. Then he took her to the fitting room, where there was no one else.
Once they were inside, Trump immediately closed the door and began the sexual assault, he said. "I was extremely confused and suddenly realized what was happening," Carroll said.
E. Jean Carroll accused Donald Trump. Photo EFE
She said she pushed Trump back and he pushed her against the wall, hitting her head. She described how Trump used his weight to hold her against the wall, then pulled down her stockings. "I was pushing him back," she said. "I was too scared to think about whether I was afraid or not," she added.
"His fingers went into my vagina, which was extremely painful," Carroll testified. Then, he said, he inserted his penis. She testified that she had not had sex since.
Carroll said he fled Bergdorf on Fifth Avenue after the attack in shock. Like many women after being abused, she said she blamed herself afterward, saying her decision to go to the fitting room had been "very stupid."
Carroll testified that she told two friends about her experience a day after the attack. One of them, Lisa Birnbach, an author and journalist, warned her that she had been raped and that she had to go to the police. A second friend, Carol Martin, told her not to tell anyone because Trump was powerful and had a team of lawyers who would bury her.
Finally, Carroll remained silent for more than 20 years. "I was afraid of Donald Trump," he explained.
The possibility of a criminal trial expired over time, but she told her story in an article in 2019 and Trump replied that she was a liar.
During closing arguments, Carroll's legal team also played the 2005 "Access Hollywood" video showing Trump saying celebrities can grab women by the genitals without consent. And that he said Carroll's case showed Trump had a pattern of behavior toward women.
Trump's lawyers, who did not call witnesses in his defense, began their appeal to the jury in the afternoon, portraying the allegations as improbable, because the store was a public place and Trump was already famous.
Trump's defense
"It's the most ridiculous and disgusting story. It's just made up," Trump's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, told jurors.
The lawyer sought to disqualify Carroll's account, saying he was only seeking "fame" and emphasizing gaps in his memory. During the trial, Tacopina also repeatedly asked the writer why she hadn't screamed.
"Even though you understood that you were in the middle of this supposed battle, did you never yell at Donald Trump or cry out for help?" "I'm not a screaming person," Carroll replied.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and called the allegations a "hoax."
In excerpts of the video of the interrogation he was subjected to last October by the prosecution lawyer, released Friday, Trump said that "it is the most ridiculous and disgusting story. It's all a lie," and called Carroll "sick."
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