Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Which plaintiffs have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault, and what were the outcomes of their cases?
Executive summary
Multiple women have publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual assault or misconduct; reporting and compiled lists name at least 26 accusers, and several brought civil suits — most notably E. Jean Carroll, who won a $5 million jury verdict finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in 2023 [1] [2]. Media summaries and court records show other named accusers (for example, Summer Zervos and Natasha Stoynoff) but many allegations did not lead to criminal convictions, and several civil claims were dropped or remain contested in various courts [3] [4] [5].
1. The biggest legal win: E. Jean Carroll’s civil verdict — what happened and where it stands
E. Jean Carroll sued Trump after publicly accusing him of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department-store dressing room in the mid-1990s; a federal jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her and awarded $5 million in damages, a judgment repeatedly reviewed on appeal and subject to further appeals to higher courts including a 2025 petition to the U.S. Supreme Court [2] [6] [7] [8]. Courts have considered testimonial evidence including other accusers’ statements and Trump’s own recorded remarks; appellate rulings have upheld many of the district court’s evidentiary decisions [9] [10].
2. Catalogue of public accusations — how many and who’s commonly cited
Journalistic compilations and encyclopedic summaries list dozens of women — Business Insider and other outlets have compiled lists noting “at least 26 women” who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct ranging from unwanted kissing to alleged rape, spanning the 1970s through the 2010s [1] [4]. Individual names that recur in coverage include E. Jean Carroll, Summer Zervos, Natasha Stoynoff, and others summarized in retrospective reporting [3] [1].
3. Civil cases besides Carroll: mixed outcomes and dropped filings
Some accusers pursued civil suits or public complaints that were later withdrawn or did not lead to judgments. For example, anonymous or pseudonymous plaintiffs around the 2016 election filed and later dismissed claims (commonly identified as “Jane Doe,” “Katie Johnson” in reporting), with attorneys saying safety concerns or threats played a role in withdrawal; those filings did not result in judgments against Trump [4] [5]. Available reporting notes other civil complaints were filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act that allowed older claims to proceed, but outcomes vary by filing and are not uniformly adjudicated in the sources provided [4] [1].
4. Criminal investigations and convictions — limited public record in these sources
The provided reporting and legal summaries indicate that these allegations have led primarily to civil litigation and public accusations; the sources here do not document criminal convictions of Trump on sexual-assault charges and often emphasize civil remedies or dropped suits [2] [4]. If you seek criminal-case detail, current reporting in the supplied sources does not present convictions relating to these accusations — “not found in current reporting” is the accurate reflection based on the documents provided [2] [4].
5. Evidence, standards and contested questions in court and public debate
Courts in the Carroll case admitted testimony from other women and a 2005 recording of Trump discussing kissing and grabbing women; judges applied federal rules allowing prior sexual-assault evidence in such civil cases, which shaped the jury’s view of credibility and pattern evidence [9] [6]. Trump’s defense has emphasized lack of eyewitnesses or contemporaneous police reports and argued political motivation; his lawyers have repeatedly contested evidentiary rulings and appealed verdicts to higher courts including the Supreme Court [7] [6].
6. Media compilations, context and limitations of the public record
Compilations such as Business Insider and longer-form reporting lay out many accusers and allegations but reflect differing levels of corroboration and legal resolution for each name; timelines, whether plaintiffs went public, and whether suits were filed vary across the list [1] [3]. Reporting also connects some allegations to broader inquiries about Trump’s associations (for example, reporting on Jeffrey Epstein documents where Trump’s name appears), but those connections do not equate to legal findings about Trump in the documents cited here [11] [4].
7. What readers should watch next
Legal appeals and petitions remain active in at least the Carroll matter — Trump petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025 to review the $5 million verdict [7] [8]. Other filings tied to the Adult Survivors Act and release of related documents (for example, Epstein-related files) could influence public understanding, but any new legal outcomes must be verified against court records and subsequent reporting [11] [4].
Limitations: this account relies solely on the supplied articles and case summaries and therefore does not cover reporting or filings outside those sources; where those sources do not mention an outcome or an allegation, I note that the information is not found in current reporting [4] [1].