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US journalist Jean Carroll filed a new lawsuit Thursday against former US President Donald Trump, accusing him of defamation and of raping her in the 1990s.
Lawyer E. Jean Carroll filed the legal documents electronically because the Adult Survivors Act temporarily waived the state's standard deadlines for sexual assault lawsuits. She was seeking indefinite and punitive damages for bodily injury, psychological harm, loss of dignity and loss of reputation.
Carroll first made the allegations in the 2019 book, claiming Trump raped her in the locker room of a luxury department store in Manhattan in 1995 or 1996.
Trump responded to the allegations in the book by saying it could never have happened because Carroll was "not my type".
His comments prompted Carroll to file a defamation suit against him, but that suit has been heard in the appeals courts as judges decide whether he is immune from legal action for comments made while he was president.
Previously, under state law, Carroll was barred from filing a complaint about the alleged rape because too many years had passed since the incident.
However, New York law gives victims of sexual offences who have missed the statute of limitations a second chance to sue. The window for such claims will be open for one year, after which the usual time limits will be reintroduced.
At least hundreds of lawsuits are expected, including from women who say they were assaulted by colleagues, prison guards, medical staff or others.
In her new statements, Carroll, in addition to past allegations, also adds that Trump beat her while sexually assaulting her and later slandered her by denying rape.
Trump said in a statement that Carroll "completely made up the story that I met her at the door of this crowded department store in New York and 'passed out' within minutes. It's a hoax and a lie, just like every other hoax that has been played on me in the last seven years."
Trump, who was in office as US president from 2017 to 2021, accused Carroll of lying. He claimed he never knew her personally. According to him, Carroll made the accusations to draw attention to her book.
Carroll sued Trump in November 2019 in the New York borough of Manhattan. She accused the US leader of defamation and demanded compensation. According to the journalist, the US leader, by accusing her of lying, caused serious damage to her professional reputation.
