Rape allegations: Donald Trump on civil trial

It appears that Donald Trump is in big trouble again, this time for very serious rape allegations. Journalist E Jean Carroll has accused him of attacking her in a Manhattan department store.

Trump on his part says that the entire claim is a fabrication made up for publicity.

Trump has been accused of rape allegations in the past and is currently facing two dozen felony counts for payment of hush money to an adult film actress. He is also being investigated for his alleged role in the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

The Rape allegations

According to a BBC news report Carroll, who is now 79, the attack occurred at a Bergdorf Goodman store in Manhattan between late 1995 and early 1996. Trump is said to have asked for her advice on lingerie which he was buying for another woman and jokingly asked her to model it for him. Carroll said at that point he lunged at her, pinned her against the wall and assaulted her.

She said she did not report the incident to the police as she “was in shock and did not wish to think of herself as a rape victim”.

Why is it a civil case and not a criminal one?

Carol first came forward with her allegations in 2019 and the case is now a civil one as the criminal statute of limitations has expired. The statute of limitations for people to bring lawsuits over sexual assault in New York is three years.

Trump’s defense

Trump has said on the Truth Social platform that her claims are a “complete con job”. He even went so far as to say that the accuser was not his “type”.

Trump is not required to attend the trial which is expected to take two weeks. Carroll’s lawyer have also said that they do not require him as a witness.

Carroll’s lawyers said they will play a tape during the trial in which Trump can be heard showboating about groping women’s genitals. They will also call other women who have said they have been assaulted sexually by him in the past.

Her legal fees is being sponsored by Reid Hoffman who is co-founder of LinkedIn and a donor for the Democratic Party.

“I have never taken any steps to hide the financial support that I have provided to this lawsuit after it started. Our courts are a mechanism of justice for all citizens, not just those with enough money and power to rig the game in their favour,” said Hoffman.

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