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What civil lawsuits has Donald Trump faced alleging sexual misconduct or assault?
Executive summary
Multiple civil suits alleging sexual misconduct or assault involving Donald Trump have reached public attention; the most developed and adjudicated are the two related E. Jean Carroll civil cases that resulted in jury findings and damages totaling about $88.3 million (Wikipedia summary) and have been the subject of appeals up to requests for Supreme Court review [1] [2]. Other civil claims — including an under‑age rape allegation tied to Jeffrey Epstein and earlier harassment suits — were filed and in several cases dismissed or withdrawn [3] [4].
1. E. Jean Carroll: the central, adjudicated civil cases
E. Jean Carroll sued Trump in two related civil actions: she first brought a defamation claim after Trump denied her allegation that he sexually assaulted her in the mid‑1990s; a jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll and ordered $5 million in damages in the federal proceeding, and the two related Carroll suits together were reported to have resulted in roughly $88.3 million in damages as of the Wikipedia summary — all of which have been appealed and stayed at various stages with Trump seeking Supreme Court review [1] [2]. The cases drew extensive evidentiary debate (including whether other accusers’ testimony and the Access Hollywood tape could be used to show pattern), and multiple appeals courts and panels rejected some of Trump’s challenges to the trials [1] [5].
2. Appeal and Supreme Court filings: continued litigation
After the trial verdicts, Trump pursued appeals and sought higher‑court intervention. Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal and to overturn the verdict that he sexually abused and defamed Carroll; reporting shows he framed the case as lacking eyewitness or contemporaneous evidence and argued political motive, while Carroll’s team relied on juries’ findings and corroborating testimony from other women [2] [1]. News outlets also report Trump requested en banc rehearing at the federal appeals level and that courts have, at times, denied those requests [1].
3. Other civil suits and dismissed claims: Katie Johnson / Jane Doe and earlier filings
Separate civil filings have alleged far more serious crimes, including a 2016 complaint by a woman using the name “Katie Johnson” (later refilled as a “Jane Doe”) that accused Trump and Jeffrey Epstein of raping her when she was 13 at Epstein’s parties; that federal action was dismissed, and variations were withdrawn or refiled before ultimate dismissal according to contemporaneous summaries [3] [6] [4]. The sources indicate those complaints were short‑lived in court and did not produce a judgment against Trump [3] [4].
4. Other named civil claims and harassment lawsuits in public record
Reporting and compiled legal histories note earlier civil accusations that reached litigation or settlement posture — for example, a 1997 suit filed by Jill Harth alleging sexual harassment in 1993 and a separate set of complaints tied to Trump’s public life — but many such matters were resolved out of court or remain summarized in long chronologies rather than producing a single, dispositive civil finding of sexual assault beyond the Carroll verdicts [4] [7]. Available sources do not enumerate every civil filing against Trump by name in a single list; they provide highlights and summaries [7] [4].
5. How courts treated pattern evidence and the role of other accusers
In Carroll’s litigation, courts and juries considered evidence beyond Carroll’s own testimony — including testimony from other women alleging similar misconduct and historical materials such as the Access Hollywood recording — as part of the dispute over whether the jury could infer a pattern of conduct; appellate challenges that argued such evidence was improperly admitted were rejected in key rulings cited by reporting [1] [5]. That dynamic mattered both for the jury findings and for subsequent appeals where Trump’s team argued trial errors [1].
6. What these cases mean politically and legally
The Carroll verdicts are unique in producing a civil finding that a jury concluded Trump sexually abused and defamed a plaintiff, and those verdicts have been framed politically by both sides — Trump characterizes the claims as politically motivated while Carroll and her lawyers point to jury verdicts and corroborating testimony [2] [1]. Other lawsuits with grave allegations either were dismissed or did not reach the same adjudicated outcome as Carroll’s, per the available reporting [3] [4].
Limitations and unresolved items
This roundup is based on the provided sources; they emphasize the Carroll litigation and summarize other filings but do not provide a comprehensive docket list of every civil suit alleging sexual misconduct against Trump. If you want a complete, sourced docket‑level inventory (dates, filings, outcomes), specify that and I will compile it from additional court records or reporting beyond the sources cited here. Available sources do not mention a full, court‑by‑court list in one place [1] [3].