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How many sexual-assault lawsuits have been filed against Donald Trump since 2016?
Executive summary
Reporting and public compilations count dozens of women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, but the number of civil sexual‑assault lawsuits filed against him since 2016 is smaller and depends on how one counts refiled or amended cases; major, widely reported civil suits include the E. Jean Carroll actions and multiple Jane Doe/Katie Johnson filings (examples cited below) [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not provide a single authoritative tally that lists every suit since 2016 in one place; instead, news outlets and reference pages recount individual suits and allegations over time [2] [4].
1. What the high‑level sources say about allegations vs. lawsuits
Longform summaries and compilations (Wikipedia, PBS, Newsweek, Ms. Magazine) list dozens of women alleging sexual misconduct by Trump going back decades — Wikipedia notes “at least 25” women and other outlets report numbers in the mid‑20s or higher — but those compilations mix public allegations, criminal claims, and civil suits rather than providing a neat count of filed civil lawsuits since 2016 [2] [4] [5]. Journalistic coverage therefore distinguishes allegations (many) from formal civil lawsuits (fewer) [4] [2].
2. The best‑documented civil case: E. Jean Carroll
The standout civil matter is E. Jean Carroll’s two related lawsuits: an initial federal case and a later state‑law filing under New York’s Adult Survivors Act. A 2023 jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her, resulting in a $5 million award, and appellate proceedings and further related awards (including larger defamation penalties) have followed; Trump has repeatedly appealed, including seeking Supreme Court review [1] [6] [7] [8] [9]. Reporting shows Carroll’s suits are unique among accusers in producing a jury finding of liability for sexual abuse [5].
3. Other notable civil filings since 2016
Reporters have documented several other civil lawsuits or filings tied to allegations since 2016. One early example is the “Katie Johnson”/“Jane Doe” matters alleging sex with Jeffrey Epstein and naming Trump; versions were filed, dismissed and sometimes refiled in 2016 and later [2] [10] [3]. Courthouse News and Newsweek describe refilings and dismissals for such Jane Doe suits, illustrating how a single claimant may generate multiple filings [3] [10]. These procedural twists make a simple numeric tally sensitive to whether one counts each filing, each refiled complaint, or each unique plaintiff [3] [10].
4. Why getting an exact post‑2016 count is hard
Sources do not publish a consolidated list limited to “sexual‑assault lawsuits filed since 2016.” Wikipedia and media roundups catalog allegations and some litigation but mix categories (civil defamation, sexual‑assault claims, settled suits, withdrawn complaints), and news articles focus on high‑profile or precedent setting cases — notably Carroll — rather than tabulating every civil filing [2] [1] [4]. Where a plaintiff refiles, drops, or amends a complaint (common in these matters), counting can double or undercount the underlying allegation depending on methodology [3] [10].
5. Competing perspectives in the reporting
Some outlets emphasize the volume of allegations to show a pattern of misconduct (Wikipedia and some advocacy‑oriented summaries list “at least 25” accusers) while court‑focused reporting highlights that most accusers have not secured judicial findings or civil verdicts; E. Jean Carroll’s case is repeatedly cited as the only sexual‑abuse allegation that produced a civil jury finding against Trump [2] [5]. Trump and his lawyers argue factual and procedural errors in trials and appeal adverse rulings, seeking higher‑court reversal; news accounts cite his denials and appeals to the Supreme Court [8] [7] [6] [11].
6. What a careful answer would require
To produce a precise number you would need a database of court dockets (federal and state) from 2016 onward and clear rules about counting (unique plaintiffs vs. distinct filings, including withdrawn or refiled suits, and whether defamation claims tied to assault allegations count). Available reporting supplies examples and context but not that exhaustive docket survey; therefore, “not found in current reporting” is the right caveat if asked for a single definitive tally [2] [3].
7. Practical takeaway for readers
If you want a working count, reporters typically cite: dozens of women have publicly accused Trump (commonly 25–27 cited), while a much smaller set of plaintiffs brought civil suits after 2016 — with E. Jean Carroll’s successful cases being the most consequential — and other suits (Jane Doe/Katie Johnson types) have been filed, dismissed, refiled or settled over the same period [2] [1] [3] [5]. For a precise, legally rigorous tally, consult court dockets or a legal researcher who can enumerate unique civil complaints filed against Trump since 2016 in federal and state courts (not compiled in the linked sources) [3] [1].