The report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth.
Investigators were first alerted to the alleged assault, the report said, by a nurse who called them after a patient requested a sexual assault exam.
She reported something may have been slipped into her drink before ending up in the hotel room where she said the assault occurred.
At the time of the alleged assault in 2017, Hegseth, now 44, was going through a divorce with his second wife, with whom he has three children.
Hegseth told investigators that the sexual encounter that followed was consensual, adding that he explicitly asked more than once if she was comfortable.
SANTA CRUZ, California — A thorough investigative report released late Wednesday revealed that a woman told police that she was sexually assaulted by Pete Hegseth in 2017 after he stole her phone, locked the door to a hotel room in California, and wouldn’t let her leave.
The report stated that Hegseth, a Fox News personality and the defense secretary nominee of President-elect Donald Trump, told police at the time that the interaction had been consensual and denied any misconduct.
When local officials issued a brief statement last week confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, the allegations gained attention.
An early Thursday request for comment from Hegseth’s attorney was not immediately answered. He claimed that in 2023, Hegseth paid the woman to avoid the possibility of an unfounded lawsuit.
The police report, which is 22 pages long and contradicts Hegseth’s version of events, was made public after a public records request. It provides the first in-depth description of what the woman claimed happened. Police interviews with the accused victim, a nurse who cared for her, a hotel employee, another woman who attended the event, and Hegseth were referenced in the report.
The Associated Press usually does not identify individuals who report experiencing sexual assault, and the woman’s name was not made public.
“The report confirms what Mr. Dot Hegseth’s lawyers have always stated: the incident was thoroughly investigated and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false,” a Trump transition spokesperson said early Thursday. “”.
According to the report, police did not conclude that the accusations were untrue. Police suggested that the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office review the case report.
A nurse called investigators after a patient asked for a sexual assault examination, the report stated, alerting them to the alleged assault. The patient told the doctors that she thought she had been beaten five days prior, but she had little memory of the incident. She claimed that her drink might have had something slipped into it before arriving at the hotel room where the assault took place.
According to the report, the unwashed dress and underwear she wore that evening were seized by police.
She didn’t return to their room that night, and her partner, who was staying at the hotel with her, told police that he was concerned about her. around two in the morning. M. She wasn’t at the hotel bar when he went there. A few hours later, she returned and apologized, saying she “must have fallen asleep.”. She told him she had experienced sexual assault a few days later.
According to the woman, who assisted in planning the California Federation of Republican Women event where Hegseth spoke, she saw the TV host acting inappropriately all night long and stroking the thighs of several women. According to the report, she texted a friend about Hegseth’s “creeper” vibe.
The woman and others reportedly confronted Hegseth after the event, telling him that she “did not appreciate how he treated women,” at an after-party in a hotel suite, according to the report.
Hegseth, the woman, and a few others made their way to the hotel’s bar. At that point, the woman told police, “things got fuzzy.”.
According to the police report, she recalled drinking at the bar with Hegseth and other people. In the report, she also claimed to have argued with Hegseth by the hotel pool, a claim corroborated by a hotel employee who was dispatched to deal with the disturbance and spoke to the police.
She soon told police that she was in a hotel room with Hegseth, who confiscated her phone and used his body to block the door, preventing her from leaving. She also admitted to police that she recalled “saying ‘no’ a lot,” according to the report.
Her next memory, according to the report, was of Hegseth hovering over her bare chest while she lay on a couch or bed with his dog tags hanging over her. Hegseth became a major during his time in the National Guard.
She remembered Hegseth asking her if she was “OK” after he was done, according to the report. After experiencing nightmares and memory loss, she told police that she could not remember how she returned to her own hotel room.
Hegseth, who is currently 44, was divorcing his second wife, with whom he had three children, at the time of the alleged assault in 2017. Court documents and posts on Hegseth’s social media indicate that she filed for divorce after he had a child with a Fox News producer who is now his wife. Court documents show that his first marriage ended in 2009, also as a result of Hegseth’s adultery.
Hegseth admitted that he was “buzzed” but not intoxicated, mentioned that he went to an after-party and drank beer but not liquor.
He claimed to have met the woman at the hotel bar and was taken by the arm back to his room, which caught him off guard as he had no intention of having sex with her at first, according to the report.
Hegseth admitted to investigators that the subsequent sexual encounter was consensual and that he repeatedly inquired about her comfort level. The woman “exhibited early signs of regret” in the morning, according to Hegseth, and he promised her that he would keep the encounter a secret.
The woman was paid as part of a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation, according to Hegseth’s lawyer, because he was worried that she was ready to file a lawsuit that he feared would have led to his termination from Fox News, where he was a well-liked host. The lawyer refused to disclose the payment amount.
