Jury finds Donald Trump sexually abused writer in NY department store

A jury in a civil case has found former President Donald Trump sexually abused a magazine columnist in a New York department store in the 1990s.

But Mr Trump was found not liable for raping E Jean Carroll in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman.

The jury also found Mr Trump liable for defamation for calling the writer’s accusations “a hoax and a lie”.

It is the first time Mr Trump has been found legally responsible for a sexual assault.

The Manhattan jury ordered Mr Trump to pay her about $5m (£4m) in damages.

The jury of six men and three women reached their decision after less than three hours of deliberations on Tuesday.

“Today, the world finally knows the truth,” Ms Carroll said in a written statement following the verdict. “This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”

Mr Trump’s lawyer said the former president plans to appeal against the decision.

Because the trial was in civil court rather than criminal, Mr Trump will not be required to register as a sex offender.

The former president – who has denied Ms Carroll’s accusations – did not attend the two-week civil trial in the Manhattan federal court.

Ms Carroll, 79, held the hands of both her lawyers as the verdict was read in court and smiled as she was awarded damages by the jury.

Mr Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, shook her hand as the trial ended, telling her: “Congratulations and good luck.”

Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for the plaintiff said in a statement: “This is a victory not only for E Jean Carroll, but for democracy itself, and for all survivors everywhere.”

After the verdict, Mr Trump, 76, posted on his social media platform Truth Social in all capital letters: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is.

“This verdict is a disgrace – a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!”

The standard of proof in civil cases is lower than in criminal cases, meaning that jurors were only required to find that it was more likely than not that Mr Trump assaulted Ms Carroll.

While the jury found Mr Trump liable for sexual battery and defamation of Ms Carroll, they did not find Mr Trump liable of raping her. To do so, the jury would have needed to have been convinced that Mr Trump had engaged in non-consensual sexual intercourse with Ms Carroll.