A woman told Monterey police that Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, took her phone, barred her from her hotel room and sexually assaulted her, according to a newly released police report.
On Wednesday evening, the Monterey Police Department released a 22-page report detailing the 2017 assault complaint filed by Hegseth, which did not result in charges. The report gives two very different accounts of what happened during sex in his hotel room when the two attended a Republican women's conference in the city in October 2017.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the report, said she kept telling Hegseth “no” when he allegedly assaulted her, and then removed semen from her stomach and told her to “clean it up” – an incident she said left her. bad dreams, according to the report.
Hegseth told police that the two had consensual sex and he repeatedly tried to make sure she was comfortable when they met, according to the report.
His lawyer said he made a secret settlement with his sexual assault accuser for an undisclosed amount.
Hegseth has denied wrongdoing since the indictment was revealed last week, and the Trump administration has continued to publicly support his candidacy.
The newly released report raises more questions in what was already shaping up to be a complicated confirmation process for Hegseth's nomination as US defense secretary. Hegseth, 44, is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been a Fox News host since 2017 and a contributor since 2014.
Hegseth was the keynote speaker at the 2017 Republican Women's Convention held at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa.
According to the police report, both Doe and Hegseth told police that they both went with a group to a hotel bar after Hegseth's speech and party at the hotel.
Doe told police he let Hegseth know he was uncomfortable when he touched her knee at the bar and refused his request to return to his hotel room. The woman also reported that she saw Hegseth behaving inappropriately towards a woman at the conference, rubbing her legs and talking “creeper”, according to the report.
The report contains conflicting information about how drunk each of them was. Doe had difficulty remembering some of the night's events and, during a sexual assault exam, later told a nurse she believed something might have gotten into her drink, according to the report.
Doe recalled trying to leave Hegseth's hotel room and being physically prevented from doing so. He also recalled Hegseth wearing dog tags, removing semen from his stomach and telling him to “clean it up.” And he remembered saying “no” a lot, according to the report.
Hegseth recalled a very different sequence of events.
She told police that Doe took her to his hotel room, where things continued between the two, according to the report. He told police that there was “constant” conversation and “regular” consensual communication between him and Doe.
Hegseth recalled that Doe showed signs of remorse after the incident and said she was going to tell her husband that she slept on the couch in another hotel room, according to the report.
Four days after the encounter, on October 12, Doe went to the hospital to request a sexual assault test and brought with him the clothes he was wearing during the alleged assault.
Doe reported memory loss and nightmares after the sexual encounter, according to the report. His partner also told police he had little energy and would cry after the incident, according to the report.
Hegseth is a graduate of Princeton University, and holds graduate degrees from Harvard University. He was decorated with two Bronze Stars and the Combat Infantryman Badge for his military service. He left the military after President Biden was elected, saying he was ordered to step down from his inauguration after top brass called him an extremist and “white nationalist.”
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