What other women have accused Donald Trump of rape or sexual assault, and what were the legal outcomes of those allegations?
Executive summary
Multiple women have publicly accused Donald Trump of rape or sexual assault over decades; the only accusation that has produced a civil finding of liability is from writer E. Jean Carroll, while other high-profile claims—such as the anonymous “Jane Doe” (also known as Katie Johnson) who alleged rape involving Jeffrey Epstein, and business partner Jill Harth—resulted in lawsuits that were dismissed, withdrawn or did not produce criminal convictions [1] [2] [3].
1. E. Jean Carroll — civil verdict for sexual abuse and defamation
E. Jean Carroll publicly accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s and sued him for defamation and, under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, for battery; a Manhattan jury in 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and for defaming her, awarding her multi-million dollar damages, and that verdict was later upheld by a federal appeals court [1] [4] [5]. The trial record shows the jury concluded in civil court that Carroll had been sexually abused—courts and reporting distinguish that civil finding from a criminal finding of rape, which was not entered in any criminal proceeding of that case [6] [4].
2. “Jane Doe” / Katie Johnson — allegations tied to Jeffrey Epstein, suits dropped or dismissed
An anonymous plaintiff filing as “Katie Johnson” and later “Jane Doe” alleged she was raped by Trump and Jeffrey Epstein when she was 13 in the 1990s and filed suits in 2016; those civil cases were dismissed or withdrawn before reaching trial and did not result in criminal charges against Trump [2] [3]. Reporting and timelines cataloging allegations against Trump include that Jane Doe’s claims were filed and then dropped, and mainstream outlets treating the case note the absence of a judicial finding of guilt [2] [3].
3. Jill Harth and other business associates — complaints, civil claims, and limited legal outcomes
Jill Harth, who worked with Trump in the 1990s and later alleged he attempted to rape her and repeatedly groped her, brought civil claims including sexual harassment and breach of contract in the late 1990s and 2000s; those actions did not produce a criminal conviction and are recorded as part of the catalogue of accusations against him rather than as a court finding of rape [7] [3]. Coverage from The Guardian and PBS describes Harth’s allegations as “attempted rape” in the civil filings and recounts contemporaneous complaints, but does not show a criminal verdict against Trump in that matter [7] [3].
4. Ivana Trump’s deposition and the contested phrasing of “rape”
Ivana Trump’s 1990s divorce deposition used the word “rape” to describe an episode in her marriage to Donald Trump, language that later became public and was softened in subsequent public statements and reporting; sources note she later characterized the term as not meant in a strictly criminal sense and that confidentiality agreements constrained public discussion of some claims [7] [3]. Reporting catalogs Ivana’s statements as part of historical allegations but records no criminal prosecution stemming from her deposition [7] [3].
5. The broader picture — many accusations, few criminal actions, and contested narratives
News organizations and aggregate lists report dozens of women alleging sexual misconduct by Trump, ranging from groping and non-consensual kissing to claims described as rape, but the legal outcomes vary widely: many accusations remain public allegations without criminal charges, several civil suits were dropped or dismissed, and only Carroll’s civil sexual‑abuse and defamation verdict has resulted in a sustained damages award upheld on appeal [2] [3] [5]. Coverage from outlets including The Guardian, PBS and court reporting frames these cases differently—some emphasize pattern evidence and survivor testimony while others note legal limitations and dismissals—so readers should weigh both the legal record and the journalistic aggregation of allegations when assessing the public record [7] [6] [3].
6. Competing narratives, legal limits and open questions
Defenders of Trump point to dismissals, withdrawals and the absence of criminal convictions as grounds to contest allegations, while advocates for accusers point to civil findings and corroborating testimony as evidence of wrongdoing; existing sources show clear legal distinctions between civil liability and criminal conviction and document that many accusations ended without trial or criminal indictment, leaving unresolved public and legal questions that reporting alone cannot conclusively answer [4] [2] [6]. This account relies on contemporaneous reporting and court records supplied by The Guardian, PBS, Wikipedia summaries, FindLaw and appellate opinions; where sources do not supply a criminal finding or full case outcome, the reporting is reported as-is rather than being characterized beyond the documented record [7] [3] [5].