A woman told police she was sexually assaulted by a man she identified as Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s pick as Secretary of Defense, according to official documents from a police investigation released Wednesday evening in California.
Documents released by Monterey police show that the woman, identified only as “Jane Doe,” met Hegseth at an event at a Monterey hotel, where he spoke, in 2017. Hegseth was not charged and he denies any wrongdoing.
The allegations came to light last weekend, when Hegseth confirmed he had paid an undisclosed sum as part of a settlement with his accuser.
Fox host Pete Hegseth, in New York City, on August 9, 2019.
Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told NBC News that the sexual assault allegation against his client is false.
“Mr. Hegseth is innocent, eyewitnesses and video confirm she was the aggressor, and years later she extorted Mr. Hegseth for money. Our position on this has been consistent over the past seven years,” he said in a statement.
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, is one of three high-profile picks joining Trump’s new Cabinet who have faced serious allegations of sexual impropriety.
According to the report, the unidentified woman, who later went to a hospital for a sexual assault examination, confronted Hegseth at the event because “she didn’t appreciate how he was treating women,” the report said.
The woman said she drank a “small amount of champagne” at an afterparty but did not remember drinking “hard alcohol.” She and a group of other women went to a bar next door to the hotel, where they had more drinks, with Hegseth reportedly also present.
“That’s where it got blurry,” she told police. She texted a friend that she had consumed more alcohol than normal during the day, the report said. The woman believed some form of drug had been laced into her drink.
When she left the bar, Hegseth followed her, the report said — she assumed because of their previous argument — and she told police she remembered Hegseth saying he was a “nice guy.”
The woman then found herself in an unknown room. She told police Hegseth asked who she was texting and took her phone from her before physically blocking her attempt to leave the room. “JANE DOE recalled saying ‘no’ many times,” the report said.
“JANE DOE’s next memory was of her lying on a bed or couch and HEGSETH lying over her,” the report said. She said his dog tags were floating over her face and he was bare-chested.
She told police he ejaculated on her stomach before throwing her a towel and asking, “Are you okay?” The woman said she doesn’t remember how she got back to her room and that the alleged encounter with Hegseth didn’t occur to her until she got home. Four days later, she went to the hospital for evaluation, the report said.
Hegseth told police after the event that he had sex with the woman, but that it was consensual and that he made sure she was comfortable with what was going on. He said he had no intention of having sex with her and that she showed “early signs of regret” afterward, although he did not elaborate on what those signs were.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
