Court documents claiming Donald Trump raped a then-13-year-old girl in 1994 could spell trouble not only for Trump's presidential campaign, but also for his Democratic competitor Hillary Clinton. The suit names both Trump, as well as billionaire and registered sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein, who associated with President Bill Clinton in the 1990s and early 2000s.
In court papers filed June 20 in New York, lawyers for the plaintiff (a California resident who filed anonymously as Jane Doe) claimed that she:
[W]as subject to acts of rape, sexual misconduct, criminal sexual acts,sexual abuse, forcible touching, assault, battery, intentional and reckless infliction of emotional distress, duress, false imprisonment, and threats of death and/or serious bodily injury by the Defendants [Trump and Epstein] that took place at several parties during the summer months of 1994.
The documents state that the plaintiff was only 13 years old at the time of the alleged crimes and was "enticed by promises of money and a modeling career to attend a series of parties, with other similarly situated females, held at a New York City residence that was being used." The papers further claim that "at least four of the parties were attended" by Trump.
In a graphic description of the alleged rape committed by Trump, the lawsuit says:
Defendant Trump initiated sexual contact with Plaintiff at four different parties.On the fourth and final sexual encounter with Defendant Trump, Defendant Trump tied Plaintiff to a bed, exposed himself to Plaintiff, and then proceeded to forcibly rape Plaintiff. During the course of this savage sexual attack, Plaintiff loudly pleaded with Defendant Trump to stop but with no effect. Defendant Trump responded to Plaintiff’s pleas by violently striking Plaintiff in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted.
The lawsuit was originally filed in April in California but was thrown out. The plaintiff, identified in the California documents as Katie Johnson, sought $100 million dollars in the suit and did not have legal representation. After the case was dismissed, the plaintiff filed the June 20 complaint in New York, this time with legal representation.
Epstein was convicted of soliciting sex from a minor in 2008 and was released in 2010 after serving 13 months of an 18 month sentence. He is still a registered sex offender.
Trump denied in April that he raped the 13-year-old girl, tellingRadarOnline:
The allegations are not only categorically false, but disgusting at the highest level and clearly framed to solicit media attention or, perhaps, are simply politically motivated. There is absolutely no merit to these allegations. Period.
Trump has also downplayed and denied his connections to Epstein. But The Daily Beast reported that Trump was regularly documented as spending time with Epstein throughout the 1990s, which is when Jane Doe says the two men raped her.
This is not the first time Trump has been accused of sexual assault. The Daily Beast reported in 2015 that one of Trump's ex-wives, Ivana Trump, said Trump raped her and made her feel "violated" during sex while they were still married .
While not named in the June 20 lawsuit against Trump and Epstein, former president Bill Clinton also has documented connections to Epstein. In May, Fox Newsobtained Federal Aviation Administration logs that revealed a series of flights Clinton took on Epstein's private jet. Fox reported that between 2001 and 2003, Clinton rode on Epstein's private plane at least 22 times to several locations, including Belgium, Hong Kong, Japan, and Russia.
The Guardian further reported last year that Epstein donated $25,000 to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation in 2006, a year after he was arrested for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.
Being implicated in a rape lawsuit with a convicted sex offender certainly doesn't help the Trump campaign, nor does the connection to Epstein via her husband and her foundation help Hillary Clinton. And neither presidential candidate has publicly called the other out for having been associated with the billionaire criminal.
The plaintiff's lawyer and representatives for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump did not immediately reply to Complex's requests for comment.
