Trump announces to appeal as US court finds him liable for sexually abusing author E Jean Carroll

WASHINGTON – A federal jury of US court has found that former president Donald Trump sexually abused Elle magazine columnist E Jean Carroll in a dressing room in a department store back in the '90s.

The development comes as an American journalist moved court against the Republican leader for raping Ms. Carrol and then backing a smear campaign against the author who earlier claimed that they ran into each other in a department store in the mid-90s and that the former president sexually assaulted her.

During the trial, Ms. Carroll maintained that it all started as a light-hearted interaction in which the two teased each other about trying a piece of lingerie before Trump became savage.

Reports in international media suggest that the US court ordered Donald Trump to pay the former journalist about $5m in damages.

Soon after the verdict, the victim said today, the world finally knows the truth, saying victory is not just for her but for every woman who suffered because she was not believed.

Trump however vented anger after the verdict, saying he has absolutely no idea who that woman was. In a social media post, he said ‘This verdict is a disgrace - a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time’.

The ruling comes following a tense cross-examination between the former US president and the US author.

Jean Carroll called nearly a dozen witnesses to prove her claims, maintaining that Trump sexually assaulted her in the lingerie department of the luxury store.