What We Know About the Newest Rape Allegations Against Donald Trump
This article was originally published at Revelist.
Trump is accused of rape, battery and a litany of other crimes.
The plaintiff alleges that, throughout the summer of 1994, she was imprisoned and raped at parties hosted by finance billionaire Jeffery Epstein.
Doe's attorney, Thomas Meagher, told Revelist that Doe left home at age 13 to attempt a modeling career in New York City. While struggling to get started in the industry, one of Epstein's associates—who has now submitted an affidavit in Doe's case against him—spotted her. The associate told Doe that she could be paid to attend parties hosted by Epstein, and that they would help to advance her career. She attended several such parties that summer.
Doe claims she encountered Trump at four of these parties, where he "initiated sexual contact" each time. In the fourth and final encounter, she alleges Trump tied her to the bed, exposed himself, and raped her.
"During the course of this savage sexual attack, Plaintiff loudly pleaded with Defendant Trump to stop but with no effect," the suit alleges. "Defendant Trump responded to Plaintiff's pleas by violently striking Plaintiff in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted."
After the encounter, the plaintiff alleges that Trump threatened to kill her family if she told anyone about it. Doe remained silent for 12 years, before this year's campaign made facing her past with Trump "unavoidable."
"This is a woman who is pained by what she went through," Meagher told Revelist. "She has major intimacy problems, she's never had a relationship that lasted, never had children, never gotten married … And seeing [Trump] on TV all the time caused her to think through what to do about it, and ultimately resulted in what she did in April."
Doe launched her first suit against Trump two months ago.
Going by the name of Katie Johnson, Doe filed a similar suit in California federal court in April, asking for $100 million in damages. The California lawsuit contains graphic details not contained in the New York filing, including allegations that Trump forced her to perform oral sex, and to "engage in an unnatural lesbian sex act" with a 12-year-old girl.
"Johnson" represented herself in that case. She claimed to have less than $300 to her name. In order to have the costs of the lawsuit waived, she filed the case as a civil rights complaint. But U.S. magistrate judge Karen Stevenson tossed the case out in May—not for lack of evidence, but because she said Johnson failed to state a civil rights claim. She also cited problems with verifying Johnson's address and telephone number.
Meagher told Revelist he read about the case, and its eventual dismissal, online. Through the website Gossip Extra, he learned the plaintiff wanted to try the case again—with legal counsel this time—but was having difficulty finding a lawyer. That's when he reached out to the website to offer his support to Doe.
She accepted. Together with Epstein's former associate, the pair began writing their claim against the two infamous billionaires.
The connection between Epstein and Trump goes back decades.
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Photo: Wikipedia (compilation via Revelist)
Jeffrey Epstein—the man accused of imprisoning Doe—also happens to be a registered sex offender, who has already been accused of keeping women as "sex slaves" for himself and his wealthy friends. Such influential friends include Bill Clinton, Stephen Hawking—and yes, Donald Trump.
Like most high-profile scumbags, Epstein kept a "little black book" of his clients and friends. Though Trump’s attorney claimed he had "no relationship” with Epstein, his notebook, obtained by the FBI, lists 14 contact numbers for the Republican candidate.
Epstein even admitted to "socializing" with Trump while on trial in 2010. But he curiously plead the fifth when asked if he had ever socialized with the businessman around minor-aged girls. Unfortunately for Epstein, Trump had already revealed their mutual appreciation for underage women in a 2002 interview.
"I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,'' Trump told New York Magazine. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it—Jeffrey enjoys his social life."
One of Epstein's victims—Victoria Roberts—even claimed to have been "recruited" to the billionaire's band of sex slaves while working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
This isn't the first time Trump's been accused of abuse.
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Photo: Christopherpeterson at English Wikipedia (compilation via Revelist)
There is Jill Harth, who filed a lawsuit in 1997 claiming Trump groped her, propositioned her, and forcibly took her into her daughter's bedroom in an attempt to sleep with her. Or Trump’s own wife, Ivana, who stated in a 1993 deposition that he had raped her.
Ivana later issued a statement, provided by Trump's lawyers, saying she didn't mean the term in a "criminal sense." But the encounter, laid out in the 1993 book "Lost Tycoon," is undeniably violent and forceful.
"[Trump] rips off her clothes and unzips his pants," author Harry Hunt writes. "Then he jams his penis inside her for the first time in 16 months. Ivana is terrified. This is not lovemaking. This is not romantic sex. This is a violent assault."
Trump dismissed the account as false, and said it was written by "an unattractive guy who is a vindictive and jealous person."
While Doe's case is still developing, what we know now is this: Trump is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, at parties hosted by a friend and registered sex offender. He has been accused of sexual assault before—including by this same plaintiff—but it seems this alleged victim will let nothing stop her pursuit of justice.
