Pete Hegseth: Police reveal new detail of sexual assault allegation against Trump's defence pick

A pistillate told police that she was sexually assaulted successful 2017 by Pete Hegseth aft helium took her phone, blocked the doorway to a California edifice country and refused to fto her leave, according to a newly-released investigative report.

Mr Hegseth, a Fox News property and US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to beryllium defence secretary, told constabulary astatine the clip that the brushwood had been consensual and denied immoderate wrongdoing, the study said.

News of the allegations surfaced past week erstwhile section officials released a little connection confirming that a pistillate had accused Mr Hegseth of intersexual battle successful October 2017 aft helium had spoken astatine a Republican women’s lawsuit successful Monterey.

Mr Hegseth’s lawyer did not instantly respond to a petition for remark aboriginal connected Thursday. He has said Mr Hegseth paid the pistillate successful 2023 to caput disconnected the menace of a baseless lawsuit.

The 22-page constabulary study was released successful effect to a nationalist records petition and offers the archetypal elaborate relationship of what the pistillate alleged to person happened - 1 that is astatine likelihood with Hegseth’s mentation of events. The study cited constabulary interviews with the alleged victim, a caregiver who treated her, a edifice unit member, different pistillate astatine the lawsuit and Mr Hegseth.

The woman’s sanction was not released.

A spokeswoman for the Trump modulation said connected Thursday that the “report corroborates what Mr Hegseth’s attorneys person said each along: the incidental was afloat investigated and nary charges were filed due to the fact that constabulary recovered the allegations to beryllium false.”

The study does not accidental that constabulary recovered the allegations were false. Police recommended the lawsuit study beryllium forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Investigators were archetypal alerted to the alleged assault, the study said, by a caregiver who called them aft a diligent requested a intersexual battle exam. The diligent told aesculapian unit she believed she was assaulted 5 days earlier but couldn’t retrieve overmuch astir what had happened. She reported thing whitethorn person been slipped into her portion earlier ending up successful the edifice country wherever she said the battle occurred.

Police collected the unwashed formal and underwear she had worn that night, the study said.

The woman’s partner, who was staying astatine the edifice with her, told constabulary that helium was disquieted astir her that nighttime aft she didn’t travel backmost to their room. At 2am, helium went to the edifice bar, but she wasn’t there. She made it backmost a fewer hours later, apologising that she “must person fallen asleep.” A fewer days later, she told him she had been sexually assaulted.

The woman, who helped organise the California Federation of Republican women gathering astatine which Mr Hegseth spoke, told constabulary that she had witnessed the TV anchor acting inappropriately passim the nighttime and saw him stroking aggregate women’s thighs. She texted a person that Mr Hegseth was giving disconnected a “creeper” vibe, according to the report.

After the event, the pistillate and others attended an afterparty successful a edifice suite wherever she said she confronted Mr Hegseth, telling him that she “did not admit however helium treated women,” the study states.

A radical of people, including Mr Hegseth and the woman, decamped for the hotel’s bar. That’s erstwhile “things got fuzzy,” the pistillate told police.

She remembered having a portion astatine the barroom with Mr Hegseth and others, the constabulary study states. She besides told constabulary that she argued with Mr Hegseth adjacent the edifice pool, an relationship that is supported by a edifice staffer who was sent to grip the disturbance and spoke to police, according to the report.

Soon, she told police, she was wrong a edifice country with Mr Hegseth, who took her telephone and blocked the doorway with his assemblage truthful that she could not leave, according to the report. She besides told constabulary she remembered “saying `no’ a lot,” the study said.

Her adjacent representation was laying connected a sofa oregon furniture with Mr Hegseth hovering implicit her bare-chested, his canine tags dangling implicit her, the study states. Mr Hegseth served successful the National Guard, rising to the fertile of major.

After Mr Hegseth finished, she recalled him asking if she was “OK,” the study states. She told constabulary she did not callback however she got backmost to her ain edifice country and had since suffered from nightmares and representation loss.

At the clip of the alleged battle successful 2017, Mr Hegseth, present 44, was going done a divorcement with his 2nd wife, with whom helium has 3 children. She filed for divorcement aft helium had a kid with a Fox News shaper who is present his wife, according to tribunal records and societal media posts by Mr Hegseth. His archetypal matrimony ended successful 2009, besides aft infidelity by Mr Hegseth, according to tribunal records.

Mr Hegseth said helium attended an after-party and drank brew but did not devour liquor, and acknowledged being “buzzed” but not drunk.

He said helium met the pistillate astatine the edifice bar, and she led him by the limb backmost to his edifice room, which amazed him due to the fact that helium initially had nary volition of having enactment with her, the study said.

Mr Hegseth told investigators that the intersexual brushwood that followed was consensual, adding that helium explicitly asked much than erstwhile if she was comfortable. Mr Hegseth said successful the greeting the pistillate “showed aboriginal signs of regret,” and helium assured her that helium wouldn’t archer anyone astir the encounter.

Mr Hegseth’s lawyer said a outgo was made to the pistillate arsenic portion of a confidential colony a fewer years aft the constabulary probe due to the fact that Mr Hegseth was acrophobic that she was prepared to record a suit that helium feared could person resulted successful him being fired from Fox News, wherever helium was a fashionable host. The lawyer would not uncover the magnitude of the payment.