Fact check: Has Donald Trump ever been charged with a sex crime?

1. Court upholds large penalties — civil law finds sexual abuse, not criminal guilt

A series of appellate rulings affirmed jury verdicts that held Donald Trump civilly liable for sexual abuse and defamation in lawsuits brought by E. Jean Carroll, with an $83.3 million penalty upheld in September 2025 and a $5 million verdict confirmed in December 2024, demonstrating that multiple courts found sufficient evidence to sustain civil liability and damages ^{[1] [2] [3]}. These rulings show that judges and appeals panels concluded trial procedures and findings were legally sound, denying requests for new trials. Civil liability requires a lower burden of proof — preponderance of the evidence — than criminal guilt. The sources make clear that these decisions are civil judgments imposing monetary penalties and do not equate to a criminal charge or a criminal conviction, underscoring a legal distinction central to assessing the original question ^{[2] [3]}.

2. A map of allegations — many accusers, varied claims, no criminal charge reported

Contemporary timelines and compilations document at least 18 women accusing Trump of sexual harassment, assault, or other inappropriate conduct across decades, with allegations summarized by outlets compiling allegations and timelines through October and December 2024; these pieces record extensive accusations but do not list any criminal indictment specific to a sex crime in the materials provided ^[5]. The Wikipedia-style entry included in the dataset catalogs numerous civil suits, settlements, and public accusations, again noting civil rulings but explicitly recording no criminal sex‑crime indictment or conviction. This juxtaposition—widespread allegations plus confirmed civil judgments without parallel criminal prosecutions—frames the legal and public debate reflected in the sources ^{[4] [5]}.

3. The E. Jean Carroll litigation: factual findings and legal consequences

The Carroll lawsuits produced both factual findings by juries and consequential monetary awards; appellate courts reviewed and affirmed those results, characterizing some of Trump’s actions in strong terms, such as “extraordinary and egregious,” while rejecting requests to overturn verdicts or grant new trials ^{[1] [3]}. These detailed appellate holdings indicate that multiple layers of the civil justice system found the evidence persuasive enough to impose liability and significant damages. The sources show the courts treated Carroll’s claims seriously and sustained punitive consequences, establishing civil accountability in a high-profile case that underlines how civil remedies have been the primary legal route for these allegations in the provided record ^{[1] [3]}.

4. Divergent narratives and potential agendas — media compilations versus court records

The datasets include journalistic timelines and compilations that emphasize the volume and patterns of accusations, which can shape public perception by highlighting the number of accusers and incidents, while court documents and appellate rulings focus on legal standards, procedures, and specific findings that resulted in civil liability. Media pieces may aim to catalog allegations comprehensively, possibly reflecting editorial priorities to analyze patterns, whereas court rulings adhere to legal standards and document enforceable outcomes; both perspectives are present in the sources and should be read together to understand the full picture. Readers should note that the absence of a criminal charge in these materials may reflect prosecutorial discretion, statute-of-limitations issues, differing burdens of proof, or evidentiary differences between civil and criminal proceedings ^[5].

5. Bottom line — what the sources collectively establish and what they do not

Collectively, the provided sources establish that Donald Trump has been the subject of numerous sexual misconduct allegations and has been held civilly liable for sexual abuse and defamation by juries and upheld by appellate courts in 2024 and 2025, resulting in substantial financial penalties; they do not document any criminal indictment or criminal conviction for a sex crime in the materials supplied. This distinction is critical: civil verdicts impose liability and damages under a lower proof standard, while criminal charges require prosecutors to bring formal indictments and meet a higher burden of proof. The evidence here supports the statement that civil courts have found misconduct, but the materials do not support a claim that Trump has been criminally charged with a sex crime ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.