A woman told police she was sexually assaulted by a man she knew as Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, according to official records of a California police investigation late Wednesday.
Documents released by the Monterey Police Department say the woman, known only as “Jane Doe,” met Hegseth at an event at a Monterey hotel in 2017 where he spoke. Hexeth has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.
The allegations emerged last weekend, when Hexeth confirmed it was paid an undisclosed amount as part of a settlement agreement with his accuser.
Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told NBC News that the sexual assault allegations against his client are false.
“Mr Hegseth is innocent, witnesses and video evidence prove he was the aggressor and years later he is demanding money from Mr Hegseth. Our position in this regard has been consistent for the past 7 years,” Parlatore said in a statement.
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Former Fox News anchor Hegseth is one of them three high-profile picks Joining Trump’s new Cabinet, which has been plagued by allegations of serious sexual misconduct.
The unidentified woman, who later went to the hospital for sexual assault evaluation, confronted Hegseth at the event because she “didn’t appreciate the way he treated women,” the report said.
The woman said she drank “a small amount of champagne” after the party but did not remember any “hard alcohol”. He went with a group of women to a bar next to the hotel where he drank more, Hegseth was also allegedly there.
“Things have gotten sketchy here,” he told police. According to the report, he wrote to his friend that he consumed more alcohol than normal during the day. The woman believed that some kind of drug had got into the drink.
Hegseth followed her out of the bar, the report said — she assumed because of their previous argument — and she told police she remembered telling Hegseth he was a “good guy.”
The woman later found herself in an unknown room. She told police that Hegseth asked who she was texting with and took her phone from her before physically preventing her from trying to leave the room. “JANE DOE remembered saying ‘no’ very well,” the report said.
“JANE DOE’s next memory was when she was on the bed or couch and HEGSETH was on top of her,” he said. She said the dog tags were running across her face and she was bare chested.
He told the police that she ejaculated on his stomach, threw a towel at him and asked, “Are you okay?” The woman said she did not remember how she got back to her room and that the alleged encounter with Hegseth did not occur to her until she returned home. According to the report, four days later, he went to the hospital for examination.
Hegseth told police after the incident that he had sex with the woman, but that it was consensual and that he was sure she was comfortable with what happened. He said he had no plans to have sex with her, and that he had since shown “early signs of remorse,” although he would not say what those signs were.