A woman told police she was sexually assaulted by a man she identified as Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary, according to official records of a police investigation released in California on Wednesday night.
The documents released by Monterey Police Department say that the woman, identified only as “Jane Doe,” met Hegseth at an event at a hotel in Monterey, where he was speaking, in 2017. Hegseth was not charged and he denies any wrongdoing.
The allegations emerged last weekend, when Hegseth confirmed he had paid an undisclosed amount as part of a settlement agreement with his accuser.
Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told NBC News that the allegation of sexual assault against his client is false.
“Mr. Hegseth is innocent, eyewitness and video evidence confirms that she was the aggressor, and years later, she extorted Mr. Hegseth for money. Our position on this had been consistent for the past 7 years,” Parlatore said in a statement.
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor, is one of three high-profile picks to join Trump’s new Cabinet who have faced serious allegations of sexual impropriety.
The report said the unidentified woman, who later went to hospital for a sexual assault exam, confronted Hegseth at the event because “she did not appreciate how he treated women,” the report said.
The woman said she was drinking a “small amount of Champagne” at an after-party but didn’t remember having any “hard alcohol.” She and a group of other women went to a bar attached to the hotel, where she had more drinks, while Hegseth was allegedly also present.
“That’s where things got fuzzy,” 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 was slipped into her drink.
When she left the bar, Hegseth followed her, the report said — she assumed because of their earlier argument — and she told police she remembered Hegseth saying he was a “nice guy.”
The woman then found her self in an unknown room. She told police that Hegseth asked who she was texting and took her phone from her, before physically blocking her attempt to leave the room. “JANE DOE remembered saying ‘no’ a lot,” the report said.
“JANE DOE’s next memory was when was on a bed or a couch and HEGSETH was over her,” the report said. She said that his dog tags were hovering over her face and he was bare-chested.
She told police he ejaculated onto her stomach, before throwing her a towel and asking “Are you OK?” The woman said she does not remember how she got back to her room and that the alleged encounter with Hegseth didn’t dawn on her until she had returned home. Four days later she went to the hospital for an exam, the report said.
Hegseth told police after the event that he had sex with the woman but it was consensual and that he made sure she was comfortable with what was going on. He said he had not planned to initiate sex with her and that afterwards she showed “early signs of regret,” although he did not elaborate on what those signs were.