Were there legal settlements paid by Donald Trump related to sexual assault allegations involving a minor?

1. The verifiable civil judgments: E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuits

A Manhattan jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s and awarded her $5 million in damages; a later related jury awarded additional defamation damages that together have been reported at roughly $83.3 million and have been the subject of appeals ^{[1] [2] [4]}. Appeals courts have upheld aspects of those verdicts, and Trump has sought Supreme Court review ^{[3] [8]}. These are civil judgments by juries, not criminal convictions ^{[1] [2]}.

2. What the sources say (and do not say) about allegations involving minors

Fact‑checking outlets and mainstream news reporting available here have examined a viral list claiming Trump paid multiple settlements to alleged victims aged 10–13 and found no credible evidence supporting those specific settlement claims. Snopes flagged the meme as unproven and noted most items lack independent corroboration; Politifact reported it found no evidence the alleged six settlements occurred; Reuters flagged that there are no credible reports of child‑molestation charges against Trump ^{[5] [6] [7]}. In short, available sources do not document the specific child‑settlement payments listed in the viral claims ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

3. Where the confusion often comes from: lawsuits, pseudonyms and withdrawn claims

Some reporting notes civil complaints that reference under‑age allegations — for example, a plaintiff using a pseudonym “Katie Johnson” filed suits alleging abuse involving Jeffrey Epstein and Trump in the 1990s; those suits were dismissed or withdrawn and did not result in a public settlement payment documented in mainstream reporting cited here ^{[9] [5] [10]}. Fact‑checkers emphasize that lawsuits using pseudonyms or claims that were dismissed do not equal verified paid settlements ^{[5] [6]}.

4. Social‑media lists vs. court records: differing standards of proof

The social‑media claims alleging multiple multimillion‑dollar settlements rely on anonymous sources, blogs, or third‑party compilations (e.g., Wayne Madsen Report, Legal Schnauzer) rather than court filings or contemporaneous credible reporting; fact‑checkers have traced the list and found no corroborating court records or reputable news reporting for the alleged child‑victim settlements ^{[11] [5] [6]}. Mainstream outlets like Reuters explicitly state there are no credible news reports of child‑molestation charges against Trump ^[7].

5. Broader context: numerous adult sexual‑misconduct allegations and civil cases

Independent of the unproven minor‑settlement claims, reporting and public summaries catalog dozens of women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to assault over decades; many of those allegations are civil matters, and some resulted in litigation — most notably E. Jean Carroll’s cases described above ^{[12] [9] [1]}. These adult allegations are part of the public record summarized by outlets and compilations in the sources provided ^{[12] [9]}.

6. How judges, juries and fact‑checkers differ in outcome and language

Civil juries can award damages where they find liability on a preponderance of the evidence; those outcomes are not criminal convictions and do not carry criminal penalties ^[1]. Fact‑checkers use different standards: they search for independent documentation of alleged payments, pleadings, or credible reporting. Where fact‑checkers and mainstream outlets find no documentary support for an allegation of settlement payments involving minors, they classify the claim as unproven or false ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

7. Bottom line for your question

Available reporting and court records in the materials provided confirm civil damages awarded to E. Jean Carroll for sexual abuse and defamation (a $5 million award and additional defamation awards later reported at roughly $83.3 million) ^{[1] [2] [4]}. However, the specific widely circulated assertions that Trump paid multiple settlements to minors — e.g., the list alleging payments to alleged victims aged 10–13 totaling tens of millions — have not been substantiated in the credible reporting and fact‑checks available here ^{[5] [6] [7]}. If you want, I can pull and summarize the exact fact‑check threads and primary court documents referenced here for deeper verification.