Which sexual misconduct cases against Donald Trump led to lawsuits, settlements, or criminal charges and what were the outcomes?

1. The E. Jean Carroll civil cases — the clearest court outcome

E. Jean Carroll sued Trump for sexual assault and for defamation after he publicly denied her allegation; a Manhattan jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a department‑store dressing room in the mid‑1990s and for defaming her, awarding $5 million in damages ^{[1] [7]}. The Second Circuit later upheld that $5 million verdict, rejecting Trump’s arguments about evidentiary rulings, and federal reporting confirms the appeals court decision ^{[2] [8]}. Separate rulings and consolidated appeals produced additional monetary penalties tied to defamation claims (reported as an $83.3 million total penalty on appeal), and Trump has sought U.S. Supreme Court review of aspects of the rulings ^{[3] [4] [9] [10]}.

2. What the Carroll verdict does — and does not — mean legally

The civil jury found Trump civilly liable for “sexual abuse” and defamation under the preponderance of the evidence standard; this is a civil finding, not a criminal conviction ^{[1] [11]}. News analysis and fact checks stress that civil liability is not the same as a criminal guilty verdict and that no criminal conviction arose from Carroll’s civil case ^[5]. Court opinions describe the legal theories used (battery claims corresponding to various criminal definitions) and the admission of other women’s testimony under federal rules for sexual‑assault evidence ^[8].

3. Other lawsuits, settlements, and dropped claims reported in sources

Reporting and compiled legal histories note other claims and lawsuits tied to allegations against Trump: a 1997 lawsuit by Jill Harth alleging sexual harassment (reported in legal summaries) and a 2016 New York filing tied to a separate sexual‑assault claim that was dropped in November 2016 ^[12]. Some allegations circulate online as claims of large private settlements (for example, disputed claims about a $35 million settlement of child‑rape allegations), but fact‑checking reporting warns these claims are unproven or lack corroborating evidence in the public record ^[6]. Overall, multiple allegations produced litigation, some dropped or resolved privately, but public sources emphasize the E. Jean Carroll civil verdict as the most legally definitive court outcome ^{[12] [6]}.

4. How courts and journalists balanced evidence and testimony

Courts allowed testimony from other accusers and a recording (the “Access Hollywood” tape) under rules permitting evidence of other sexual assaults in relevant cases; the appeals court found those evidentiary rulings were not erroneous and did not unfairly prejudice Trump ^[8]. Journalistic timelines and analyses (The Guardian, PBS, Newsweek) document the juries’ findings, the legal standards applied, and commentary stressing the difference between civil liability and criminal guilt ^{[11] [7] [5]}.

5. Political and public consequences highlighted by reporting

Coverage shows the Carroll verdict generated significant political and reputational debate: some outlets described it as the first time a civil jury legally branded a former U.S. president as a sexual predator, while others and legal analysts cautioned about conflating civil findings with criminal culpability ^{[11] [5]}. Trump’s legal team has pursued appeals up to requests for Supreme Court review, and media outlets note ongoing appellate outcomes and further separate defamation rulings tied to the same pattern of statements ^{[4] [9] [13]}.

6. Limits of available reporting and remaining open questions

Available sources document the Carroll verdict and a handful of lawsuits or dropped claims, but they do not provide a comprehensive list of every allegation, private settlement, or unfiled complaint; some widely circulated settlement claims have been debunked or remain unproven in public records ^[6]. If you seek a full catalogue of every allegation, lawsuit, settlement amount, or dropped case, current reporting in these sources does not provide a single, authoritative ledger and often notes unresolved or disputed assertions ^{[6] [12]}.

If you want, I can compile a timeline of the named lawsuits and their court outcomes (dates, filings, appeals) drawn solely from these sources.