Trump sued under ‘Prince Andrew law’
Accuser files civil case on historical claim
DONALD Trump is being sued for battery and defamation under a law that allowed Prince Andrew to be pursued by his historical sex accuser.
E Jean Carroll filed legal papers against the former US President yesterday, the first day civil lawsuits can be brought under the Adult Survivors Act.
Andrew was pursued by Virginia Giuffre, the former sex slave of his paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein, under the children’s version of the same act.
The lawsuit by ex-agony aunt Ms Carroll, 78, is her second against Trump but the first to seek to hold him accountable for battery for allegedly raping her.
It also alleges a new defamation claim based on statements Trump made last month.
Ms Carroll seeks unspecified damages for pain and suffering, psychological harm, dignity loss and reputation damage.
The former advice columnist for Elle magazine claimed in a 2019 book that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a luxury department store in Manhattan in 1995 or 1996. Trump, 76, responded by saying it could never have happened as Carroll was “not my type”.
His remarks led her to file a defamation lawsuit against him, but that lawsuit has been tied up in appeal courts as judges decide whether he is protected from legal claims for comments made while he was President.
Usually, America’s statute of limitations prevents historical cases from being brought against those accused of sexual misconduct. However, New York’s child and adult survivor acts allow alleged victims to pursue claims.
Andrew was sued by Ms Giuffre after she claimed she was made to have sex with him three times on the orders of Epstein.
The royal vehemently denied her claims but agreed to an outof-court settlement in March reported to be worth £12million.
The agreement was in no way an admission of any wrongdoing on the prince’s part.