Former (and possibly future) President Donald Trump has been found guilty of sexual assault in civil court. The jury also found him guilty of defamation.
Trump did not testify at the trial, which was held in Manhattan. Writer E. Jean Carroll alleged the politician raped her in a dressing room in 1996 and defamed her again in a social media post last year. This was a civil trial, not a criminal one, and resulted in an award of damages, not a prison sentence. The standards that the jury was asked to meet are also different. By CNN:
In this case, the jury – three women and six men – deliberated for two and a half hours before reaching their verdict. Trump is liable for defamation and was ordered to pay Carroll $3 million. He is also responsible for the battery and is expected to pay an additional $2 million. On the question of the act itself, the jurors had the choice: rape, sexual abuse or forced touching, by Reuters. The jury found him guilty of sexual abuse.
In addition to their client’s refusal to testify, Trump’s attorneys offered no defense, betting on the company’s history not to believe the women (Carroll testified).