Police Report Unearths Details Around 2017 Pete Hegseth Sexual Assault Allegation

The Monterey Police Department released a report Wednesday evening unearthing new details about a sexual assault allegation Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, faced in 2017, which could derail his intended nomination.

The document, reported by multiple news outlets, was released following public record requests by news organizations. Hegseth has said the encounter was consensual and was never charged with a crime. He entered into a nondisclosure agreement with the woman in 2020.

According to the report, the woman involved in the alleged incident went to the hospital days after attending a GOP political conference at a hotel in Monterey, California, to ask for a sexual assault examination.

The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the documents, told the attending nurse “something may have been slipped into her drink, as she cannot remember most of the night’s events,” according to the report. Doe told the nurse she couldn’t recall if sexual penetration had occurred but said she thought she had been sexually assaulted. The nurse reported Doe’s account to the police.

Based on the information in the report, the alleged incident occurred in October 2017 when both attended the conference organized by the California Federation of Republican Women at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa.

Both went to the hotel bar. Doe, who told police she consumed much more alcohol “than normal” that day, said she approached Hegseth to speak to him after noticing he was behaving “inappropriately” toward other women, prompting an argument between the two. Doe said Hegseth told her he was a “nice guy.”

Video footage from the hotel, described in the report but not released as part of the public records request, showed Doe and Hegseth later leaving the bar “with arms locked together” as they made their way to the pool of the property.

Later that evening, hotel guests complained about noise coming from the pool, prompting a hotel employee to speak to Doe and Hegseth. The employee told police Hegseth, who he described as “very intoxicated,” told him he “had freedom of speech,” and the two walked out. Doe, according to the employee, did not seem drunk.

When they went back to his room, Doe told police Hegseth “took her phone from her hands.” Doe recalled that she tried to exit the room, but Hegseth stood in the way, blocking the door. Doe said she “remembered saying ‘no’ a lot” but couldn’t recall much further.

Doe said Hegseth laid over her and later ejaculated on her stomach. She returned to her room but told police she did not remember how she made her way there.

Hegseth has offered police his own version of that night’s events.

Hegseth told police he was “buzzed” and confirmed the two ended up in his room but claimed Doe “sat down in the room and did not leave,” which he said he found “odd.”

Hegseth claimed the two had sex but said their sexual encounter was “consensual.” He said he made sure to check she was “comfortable with what was going on” between them.

Hegseth said he told Doe he didn’t have a condom, and she didn’t mind and said he ejaculated on her body.

The Fox News host told police he had a talk with Doe after their sexual encounter, claiming that Doe said she would tell her husband she fell asleep on someone else’s couch. Hegseth claimed Doe displayed “early signs of regret.”

Hegseth was not charged as a result of the investigation but entered into a nondisclosure agreement with Doe in 2020.

Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth’s lawyer, claimed that the report exonerated his client.

“This police report confirms what I’ve said all along, that the incident was fully investigated, and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed,” he told CNN.

However, the documents do not describe Doe’s allegation as false and do not explain why no charges were filed against Hegseth.