A newly released police report from 2017 alleges that Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host and nominee for secretary of defense, blocked the woman who accused him of sexual assault from leaving the hotel room and took her phone before the encounter that he denies was anything but consensual.
Hegseth, 44, who President-elect Donald Trump selected to be the next defense secretary, told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied wrongdoing. The identity of the alleged victim has not been released publicly.
The news of the allegations surfaced last week when Monterey officials released a brief statement confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at a Republican women’s event at a hotel in the area. The Monterey government released public records on Wednesday night that provided additional details of the alleged incident.
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Hegseth’s attorney Tim Parlatore said his client denies any wrongdoing, though the lawyer acknowledged that his client paid the alleged victim in a settlement agreement to thwart a possible lawsuit.
“This police report confirms what I have said all along that the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed,” Parlatore told the Washington Examiner. The report does not say the allegations were false. It recommended the case report be forwarded for review to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review.
The night in question was Oct. 7, 2017. The woman, who was identified as Jane Doe in the police documents, said she observed Hegseth “acting inappropriately with the women at the conference” and that there had been alcohol served at an after-party. They then had an argument near the pool.
The woman told police that her next memory was from inside a hotel room before Hegseth allegedly took her phone and prevented her from leaving.
“Hegseth took her phone from her hands. Jane Doe stated she got up and tried to leave the room, but Hegseth blocked the door with his body. Jane Doe remembers saying ‘no’ a lot,” the document said. Her next memory, according to the report, was Hegseth bare-chested and his dog tags hovering in her face.
Hegseth allegedly ejaculated on her stomach and then threw her a towel. She went to the hospital to report the incident four days later.
A nurse at Kaiser Permanente reported suspicious circumstances and urged an investigation to be conducted after the victim came in and requested a Sexual Assault Response Team exam.
The alleged victim told law enforcement she believed she may have been drugged due to her limited memory of the night in question. Officers collected the woman’s dress and underwear from the night of the alleged incident.
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He insisted the encounter was consensual when he spoke with police later on. Hegseth said in the morning after their encounter that the woman “showed early signs of regret,” but he did not elaborate.
Hegseth is expected to be on Capitol Hill on Thursday, according to the Washington Post, as lawmakers debate Trump’s picks for his Cabinet positions.
