Trump’s alleged sexual assault of a minor: what we know and what’s still being hidden

President Trump allegedly sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl who was trafficked to him by Jeffrey Epstein, according to documents released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last Thursday. The White House insists the allegations are “completely baseless“ and “backed by zero credible evidence.”

For three decades, the victim only told her mother and one close friend about the alleged assault by Trump. The DOJ became aware of the allegation when that friend called a tipline that had been set up for Epstein victims. By that time, her mother was deceased.

In 2019, the victim told the FBI that her mother advertised her babysitting services in Hilton Head, South Carolina, in the 1980s. She was 13 years old. Epstein, known to her as “Jeff,” responded.

She said that when she arrived at Epstein’s condo, he was alone, and offered her drugs and alcohol. As the room went blurry, the victim alleged, Epstein began to sexually assault her. She said the rapes and abuse continued for several years — both in South Carolina and in other states.

When she was between 13 and 15 years old, the victim said she was transported by Epstein “to either New York or New Jersey” and taken to a “very tall building with huge rooms.” At that point, according to her account, she was introduced to Trump.

The victim told the FBI that Trump cleared the room and said something like, “Let me teach you how little girls are supposed to be.” Trump then unzipped his pants and forced her head onto his penis, the victim alleged. In her FBI interview, the victim said that she “bit the shit out of it” in response, and Trump retaliated by hitting her on the side of the head.

Since the initial release of the documents, two important developments have bolstered the credibility of the alleged victim. This new information has received little national media attention.

First, the Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown, the nation’s premier journalist on the Epstein scandal, has revealed new information about how the FBI assessed the victim. Brown, citing a DOJ source, reported that the FBI agents who interviewed the victim “found her to be credible.” The DOJ source told Brown that they would not have interviewed her four times if they suspected she was lying. This does not mean they were able to verify the substance of the victim’s allegations, but it is significant.

Second, the Post and Courier, a media outlet based in Charleston, South Carolina, verified key aspects of the victim’s story around the time of the alleged Trump assault. For example, the victim claimed “her mother became aware that Epstein had nude photos of the teen from their sexual encounters and was demanding money to keep them hidden.” She told the FBI that this “extortion demand caused her mother to steal funds from her real estate company.” The Post and Courier obtained public records showing that her mother was “accused of stealing $22,000 from the escrow account” at the time. The victim also said that these financial crimes ultimately landed her mother in “a state prison near Columbia.” Public records obtained by the Post and Courier confirm her mother’s incarceration.

Smaller details also checked out. For example, the victim told the DOJ that she once bumped into Epstein at a Rick James concert in Savannah. Archival newspaper databases show that James regularly played in the Savannah area at the time.

These new developments do not prove that the substance of the victim’s allegations is true. But, put into context with what we already knew about Trump and how the Epstein files have been handled, it suggests her claims should be taken seriously.

Three key documents about Trump’s alleged sexual assault of a minor were withheld

On January 30, the DOJ announced that it had completed the release of all Epstein documents it was required to disclose under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. That document dump, however, only included a brief description of the allegations against Trump and a summary of one interview where the victim did not discuss the alleged sexual assault by Trump.

Independent journalist Roger Sollenberger discovered the existence of three additional interview summaries with the victim in the files of a case involving Ghislaine Maxwell. Sollenberger’s reporting was later confirmed by numerous major media outlets. Only after a public outcry about the missing files were summaries of these interviews released.

On March 5, the Justice Department released the three additional interview summaries, claiming that they were incorrectly labeled as “duplicative.” The notion that three documents that contain detailed allegations about Trump sexually assaulting a minor were accidentally miscoded strains credulity, particularly since an interview with the same victim that does not mention Trump was previously released.

Other key documents about Trump’s alleged sexual assault of a minor continue to be withheld

NPR reported that 53 pages of materials related to Trump’s alleged sexual assault of a minor were excluded from the DOJ’s January 30 release. So far, only 16 pages have been disclosed, meaning 37 pages are still being withheld by the Trump administration. The missing documents include “notes from the interviews, a law enforcement report and license records.” The DOJ has not explained why these materials are not being released.

Trump has been accused of sexual assault by dozens of women

More than two dozen women have accused Trump of sexual assault. In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-90s and later defaming her. He was accused by multiple contestants of walking into a group dressing room “while teenagers were changing their clothes“ during the Miss Teen USA pageants in the 1990s. In 2005, he bragged about his ability to go into beauty pageant dressing rooms during an episode of Howard Stern.

Famously, Trump was recorded bragging about his ability to get away with sexual assault in 2005 on an Access Hollywood tape.