Activists: Trump’s sexual abuse verdict is a ‘turning point in history’ for survivors
The nine members of the jury in the civil case found that the former president had sexually abused and defamed columnist E Jean Carroll by claiming her accusations were “a hoax and a lie”, but they did not find him liable of raping her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store.
Trump must pay Carroll $5m (almost £4m) in damages after the jury of six men and three women deliberated for less than three hours on Tuesday (9 May).
Carroll, a former advice columnist for Elle, said she ran into the business mogul in Bergdorf Goodman in either late 1995 or early 1996. She claimed he forcefully kissed her and proceeded to rape her in a dressing room, in an incident which lasted less than three minutes.
In a statement on Instagram, GLAAD president and chief executive, Sarah Kate Ellis, said: “E Jean Carroll’s courage, and her legal team’s expertise, led by LGBTQ icon Robbie [Roberta] Kaplan, must become a turning point in history for all survivors of sexual abuse and torment.
She added: “Jurors and the world at large got to see his disgusting rhetoric on full display, unapologetically bragging about rape and abuse.
“Media reporting on his ongoing, inexplicable political career must follow Kaplan’s lead and challenge the former president’s lies and abusive behaviour. Voters and the media can follow the jury’s lead to continue holding Trump accountable for his revolting words and actions.”
Wring on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump – who is hoping to win back the White House in 2024 – responded: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace, a continuation of the greatest witch-hunt of all time.” In another post, he added: “Very unfair trial.”
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