[ad_1]
A woman told police she was sexually assaulted by Pete Hegseth in 2017 after he took her phone, blocked the door to a hotel room in California and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigation report released late Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).
Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, told police at the time that the encounter was consensual and denied any wrongdoing, according to the report.
News of the allegations emerged last week when local officials released a brief statement confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he spoke at a Republican Women’s event in Monterey.
Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Palatore, said in a statement that the police report confirms “what I have said all along that the incident was fully investigated and the police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed.”
Hegseth paid the woman in 2023 as part of a confidential settlement to avert the threat of what he described as a frivolous lawsuit, Palatore said.
The 22-page police report was released in response to a public records request and offers the first detailed account of what the woman says happened — one that contradicts Hegseth’s version of events.
The report details police interviews with the alleged victim, the nurse who treated her, hotel staff, another woman at the event and Hegseth.
The woman’s name has not been released, and the Associated Press typically does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted.
A spokeswoman for the Trump transition said early Thursday that “the report confirms what Mr. Hegseth’s lawyers have said all along: The incident was fully investigated and no charges were filed because police determined the allegations were false.”
The report does not say that the police found the allegations to be false. Police recommended that the case report be forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney’s office for review.
Investigators were first alerted to the alleged assault by a nurse who called them after the patient requested an examination of the sexual assault.
The patient told medical staff that she believed she was attacked five days ago, but did not remember much about what happened. She reported that something was put in her drink before she ended up in the hotel room where she said the attack took place.
Police collected the unwashed dress and underwear she wore that night, the report said.
The woman’s partner, who was staying at the hotel with her, told police he was worried about her that night after she didn’t return to their room.
At 2 am he went to the hotel bar, but she was not there. She returned a few hours later, apologizing that she “had to fall asleep.” A few days later, she told him that she had been sexually assaulted.
The woman, who helped organize the California Federation of Republican Women’s rally where Hegseth spoke, told police she witnessed the TV host’s inappropriate behavior during the night and saw him fondling multiple women’s thighs. She texted a friend that Hegseth was giving off a “creepy” vibe, according to the report.
Trump names son’s ex-girlfriend as ambassador to Greece
After the event, the woman and others attended an after party in a hotel suite where she said she confronted Hegseth, telling him she “didn’t appreciate the way he treated women,” the report said.
A group of people, including Hegseth and a woman, fled to the hotel bar. That’s when “things got blurry,” the woman told police.
She remembered having drinks at the bar with Hegseth and others, the police report said.
She also told police that she had argued with Hegseth near the hotel pool, a fact confirmed by hotel staff who were sent to deal with the disturbance and spoke with police, according to the report.
Soon, she told police, she was in a hotel room with Hegseth, who took her phone and blocked the door with his body so she couldn’t get out, according to the report. She also told police she remembered “saying ‘no’ a lot,” the report said.
Her next memory was of lying on a couch or bed with a bare-chested Hegseth hovering over her, his tiles dangling, the report said. Hegseth served in the National Guard, rising to the rank of major.
After Hegseth finished, she recalled him throwing a towel at her and asking if she was “okay,” the report said. She told police she did not remember getting back to her hotel room and had suffered from nightmares and memory loss ever since.
At the time of the alleged assault, Hegseth, now 44, was divorcing his second wife, with whom he has three children. She filed for divorce after he fathered a child with a Fox News producer who is now his third wife, according to court records and Hegseth’s social media posts. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after Hegseth’s infidelity, according to court records.
Hegseth, who joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 before becoming co-anchor Fox & Friends weekendhe left the network after Trump announced his intention to nominate him.
Hegseth said he was at an after party and had been drinking beer but not alcohol, and admitted he was “high” but not drunk.
He said he met the woman at the hotel bar and she led him by the hand back to his hotel room, which surprised him because he had no intention of having sex with her at first, according to the report.
Hegseth told investigators that the ensuing sex was consensual, adding that he specifically asked her repeatedly if she was comfortable.
Hegseth said in the morning that the woman “showed early signs of remorse” and assured her that she would not tell anyone about the encounter.
Hegseth’s lawyer said the woman was paid as part of a confidential settlement several years after the police investigation because Hegseth was concerned she was ready to file a lawsuit he feared could result in his firing from Fox News, where he was a popular host. The lawyer did not want to disclose the amount of the payment.
[ad_2]