On Tuesday, a New York jury found Donald Trump, the former president of the USA, guilty of sexually abusing and defaming a former American magazine columnist. It sentenced him to pay her Ksh.678 million in damages.
Following less than three hours of deliberation, the nine jurors in the highly watched civil trial dismissed E. Jean Carroll's rape accusation but unanimously accepted her other charges.
It is the first time Trump has faced legal ramifications for several sexual assault allegations in recent decades. The former president quickly dismissed the conviction as a "disgrace."
Carroll, 79, filed a lawsuit against Trump last year, saying he raped her in the changing room of the posh Bergdorf Goodman store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in 1996.
Did you read this?
The former Elle magazine columnist also alleged that Trump defamed her when he labelled her "a complete con job" after she made the allegation public in 2019.
Trump, the 76-year-old Republican leader in next year's presidential race, labelled her case a "hoax" and "a lie."
Carroll was awarded $2 million after the jury determined that she had demonstrated sexual abuse by an overwhelming majority of the evidence.
The jury of three women and six men also concluded that Trump should compensate Carroll for defamation for $3 million.
Carroll smiled as she exited the Manhattan federal court but did not talk to reporters.
Trump's 2024 campaign said the case was a "political endeavour" to undermine Trump's reelection bid and that he would appeal.
Carroll testified during the two-week civil trial that the assault had left her "ashamed" and unable to establish intimate connections. She claimed it took her more than two decades to speak up because she was "frightened" of Trump. Her attorneys invited two more women to testify that Trump sexually attacked them decades ago.
Jessica Leeds, a former entrepreneur, alleged Trump groped her in the business class portion of a flight in the 1970s.
A journalist, Natasha Stoynoff, alleged that Trump kissed her without her consent during an interview at his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2005.
Several dozen women accused Trump of sexual misconduct before his election to the presidency in 2016.
He has rejected all of the allegations and has never been charged with them. Carroll's lawsuit cannot lead to criminal prosecution.
-1732277552.jpg)
