And for a SECOND OPINION on "I'm not a rapist, I didn't rape anybody," let's welcome JUDGE LEWIS KAPLAN. [View all]

Judge clarifies: Yes, Trump was found to have raped E. Jean Carroll

July 19, 2023

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/19/trump-carroll-judge-rape/

The filing from Judge Lewis A. Kaplan came as Trump’s attorneys have sought a new trial and have argued that the jury’s $5 million verdict against Trump in the civil suit was excessive. The reason, they argue, is that sexual abuse could be as limited as the “groping” of a victim’s breasts.

Kaplan roundly rejected Trump’s motion Tuesday, calling that argument “entirely unpersuasive.”

“The finding that Ms. Carroll failed to prove that she was ‘raped’ within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape,’ ” Kaplan wrote.

He added: “Indeed, as the evidence at trial recounted below makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that.”