Police report provides details and timeline of sexual assault allegation against Pete Hegseth

The woman who accused then-Fox News host Pete Hegseth of sexual assault in 2017 claimed that although she didn’t remember the exact night in question, she “remembered him saying ‘no’ a lot” and that he prevented her from leaving. in his hotel room, according to a police report from the Monterey, Calif., police department.

reportReleased to NPR and other outlets following a public records request. incident involving woman and HegsethLast week, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense was named.

On Thursday, Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “This report confirms what Mr. Hegseth’s lawyers have said all along: the incident was fully investigated and no charges were filed because police deemed the allegations unfounded. Pete Hegseth, just like on the battlefield “He is a highly respected Combat Veteran who not only served our country honorably in uniform, but will also honorably serve our country when confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense.”

The allegation against Hegseth came to the public agenda a few days after President-elect Donald Trump announced him as his nominee for Secretary of Defense. add to review The longtime television personality’s qualifications to lead the Department of Defense.

Hegseth, 44, left working at Fox News last week after his candidacy was announced. Although Hegseth denies her accuser’s allegations, he settled with her several years ago to prevent her from filing a lawsuit that could have damaged her television career, her lawyer Timothy Parlatore said.

“This police report confirms what I have said all along,” Parlatore told NPR in an emailed statement, adding that “the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegations to be unfounded, so no charges were filed.”

Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni told NPR that her office declined to pursue the case in early 2018 after determining that “neither charge was supported by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.”

What do the two sides say?

The police document identifies the woman only as Jane Doe. She told an investigator that late one night, at a hotel hosting a Republican women’s conference, Hegseth took her cellphone from her room and “blocked the door with her body,” according to the report.

Additionally, the report said, a police officer said they later had a sexual encounter and that she “went to the hospital because she believed she had been sexually assaulted by (Hegseth),” with other events in the following days triggering her memories.

The events described in the police report occurred over several hours, from the evening of Saturday, October 7, to the early hours of Sunday, October 8. When police contacted Hegseth later that month, his version of events differed from Doe’s; When he told an investigator that he and Doe had sex, but that it was consensual.

Both Hegseth and Doe say they drank alcohol that night as they and others moved from a banquet and speeches to an after-party and then late-night drinking at the bar at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa.

The facility was hosting a conference and party for the California Federation of Republican Women. Doe, who worked for the organization, was staying at the hotel with his wife.

Why is the report coming out now?

City Attorney Christine Davi said her office determined it could release the redacted police report because Hegseth was given a copy of the same document in March 2021, making it no longer exempt from release under the state’s public records laws.

Other records, including a separate police report from another agency; Kaiser Permanente report; a voice recording; surveillance footage; a photo; Davi says a memo from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office will remain confidential.

What about the accounts of witnesses and videos?

Witnesses describe roughly the same general flow of movements as Hegseth, Doe and others moved from the hotel’s conference center and ballroom to an after party that included several suites. Later, Doe and Hegseth were part of a smaller group that went to the hotel’s bar, Knuckles Sports Bar.

Witnesses and hotel records stated that Hegseth and Doe argued loudly by the pool around 1:30 a.m., leading an employee to ask them to be quiet.

According to the police report, Hegseth responded by cursing at the employee and saying he “had freedom of speech.” Doe then intervened and told the employee, “He said they were Republicans and apologized for Hegseth’s behavior.”

Hegseth and Doe left a short time later, the employee said. They eventually reached Building 5, room 528, Hegseth’s room.

Text messages sent along with the police report show conversations about Pete Hegseth speaking at a conference for Republican women in Monterey, California.

What did Jane Doe tell the police?

Doe said in text messages shared with police: meeting At the conference, Hegseth is accompanied by a message that reads “our ladies are drooling.”

Some of Doe’s messages were in conversations with her husband. Some stated that they were not impressed by Hegseth, saying, “He wears a ring on his index finger. This scares me.”

Later in the evening, Doe told investigators she saw Hegseth “acting inappropriately,” rubbing women’s legs and “exuding a creepy vibe,” according to the report.

In her statement to police, Doe described how memories of that night came back to her. “That’s when things got blurry,” he said of his visit to the Knuckles bar.

He told police he remembered arguing with Hegseth by the pool and said it was about how he treated women at the conference. Do recalled Hegseth telling her “he was a good guy,” according to the report.

“(Doe) stated that his next memory was of being in an unknown room,” according to the police report. “(Doe) didn’t know where she was or how she got into the room. (Hegseth) was in the room with her.”

The woman said Hegseth asked who she was texting with and took her phone, the report states. Doe told police she then tried to leave the room, but Hegseth blocked the door.

“(Doe) remembered me saying ‘no’ frequently. (Doe) stated that she didn’t remember much else. (Doe’s) next memory was when she was in bed or on the couch and (Hegseth) was on top of her.” ) dog Tags was hovering over his face.”

What did Hegseth tell the police?

Hegseth told police that he gave the opening speech at the conference. He said he then went upstairs and drank beer to attend the after-party. He said he and the others then went to the hotel bar. Police said hotel security camera footage showed him, Doe and another woman walking toward the bar in a time-stamped video around midnight.

According to the report, Hegseth said no one at the bar was “passed out drunk” and although he was “buzzed” he was not drunk.

Hegseth told police he didn’t remember arguing at the pool. He said he was confused about Doe returning to the hotel room with him because they didn’t talk to others as much as he did. Hegseth argued that any physical interaction between them was consensual. She said Doe then said she was going to tell her husband that she had fallen asleep on the couch in someone else’s room.

Before Doe left his room, Hegseth said, he told her he would keep quiet about what happened, but Doe “showed early signs of remorse.” He did not specify what these signs were.

How did the police get involved?

Police were alerted on Oct. 12, 2017, when a Kaiser Permanente nurse called them to report that a woman had requested a sexual assault exam. The patient, known as Jane Doe, asked to remain anonymous and did not initially tell police Hegseth’s name, either, according to the report.

The nurse said that the patient was referred to the emergency room for examination.

The 22-page police report includes an investigator who followed and spoke to Doe and the other women who were with her that night, starting with the officer who conducted the initial search; hotel employees; and Hegseth himself.

The report concludes with a recommendation that the case be forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review. The report lists the potential crime as “Rape: victim unaware of the nature of the act.” California penal code section 261(a)(4). Under state law, rape is classified as a felony punishable by three to eight years in prison.