Have any criminal charges related to sexual offenses been filed against Donald Trump and what were the outcomes?
Executive summary
Civil juries and appeals courts have found Donald Trump liable in at least one high‑profile sexual‑misconduct civil case: a New York jury in May 2023 found him liable for sexually abusing columnist E. Jean Carroll and defaming her, producing a $5 million verdict that appellate courts later upheld [1] [2] [3]. Those findings are civil liabilities, not criminal convictions; available sources say Trump was not criminally charged or criminally convicted in that case and were explicit that he was not found guilty of rape in criminal court [4] [1].
1. What was actually filed and decided: the Carroll civil case
E. Jean Carroll sued Donald Trump in civil court first for defamation and later for battery; a New York jury in May 2023 concluded Trump was liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the mid‑1990s and for defaming her, awarding $5 million in damages [1]. Federal appellate courts have upheld that civil verdict, with the Second Circuit sustaining the $5 million finding and later related larger damage totals that courts also affirmed on appeal [2] [5] [3]. Trump’s legal team appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court as recently as November 2025, according to available reporting [6] [3].
2. Civil liability versus criminal charges — the crucial legal distinction
Reporting and fact‑checks stress the distinction: the jury’s finding was civil liability for sexual battery/abuse and defamation, not a criminal conviction for rape or another felony; Trump was not criminally charged in Carroll’s case and therefore not “guilty” in the criminal sense [4] [1]. News outlets and legal analysts repeatedly note that civil standards (preponderance or clear and convincing where specified) differ from criminal standards (beyond a reasonable doubt) and that the Carroll matter proceeded through tort claims and defamation suits rather than a criminal prosecution [1] [4].
3. Other allegations and lawsuits: breadth but not always criminal filings
Multiple women have publicly accused Trump over decades of unwanted kissing, groping or sexual assault; reporting counts more than two dozen allegations across decades [7] [8]. Some of those led to civil suits or public denunciations; available sources do not report a pattern of successful criminal prosecutions against Trump arising from those allegations. Legal commentators pointed out that in other contexts — for example responses to leaked recordings — commentators said the conduct described could amount to criminal sexual battery under some state laws, but those observations emphasize hypotheticals and do not document criminal charges against Trump [9].
4. How courts framed the Carroll verdict and subsequent appeals
Judges and appeals courts have described the Carroll proceedings as involving claims that included rape, sexual abuse or forcible touching under New York law, but the jury’s final finding was sexual abuse and defamation rather than criminal rape, and federal appeals courts have repeatedly rejected Trump’s challenges — upholding the liability findings and monetary awards through late 2024 and 2025 filings [3] [2] [5]. Trump’s legal team has continued appeals, including asking the Supreme Court to take up the case [6] [3].
5. Political context and competing narratives
Trump and his spokespeople characterize the Carroll suit as politically motivated and have said they will continue to appeal; media outlets and legal analysts frame the jury verdict as a landmark civil finding that for the first time legally branded a former U.S. president as a sexual abuser in a civil forum [2] [8] [10]. Fact‑checkers and some outlets stress that labeling the outcome as a “conviction” or a criminal guilty verdict is inaccurate because no criminal prosecution produced a conviction in these matters [4].
6. What the available sources do not mention
Available sources do not mention any criminal charges filed against Trump that resulted in a criminal conviction for sexual offenses; they also do not document a criminal trial against him for the Carroll allegations — the proceedings reported are civil and appellate civil reviews [4] [1] [2]. For other named accusers, the current reporting in these sources does not show criminal prosecutions that produced criminal convictions tied to Trump [7] [8].
Limitations: this account relies solely on the supplied reporting and legal summaries; courts and filings change over time and Trump’s legal team has ongoing appeals, so readers should consult court dockets or subsequent reporting for the latest procedural outcomes beyond the pieces cited here [3] [6].