article

FILE-Pete Hegseth, host of “Fox & Friends,” at the National Council of Young Israel Gala in New York. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of defense, is being investigated by police for sexual assault allegations.

In a detailed investigative report obtained by The Associated Press, a woman told authorities she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave. .

The 22-page police report was released in response to a public records request and provides a detailed account of what the woman claims happened.

RELATED: Pete Hegseth paid woman after sexual assault allegation, lawyer confirms

According to the AP, the report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel employee, another woman at the event and Hegseth.

Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter with the woman was consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the AP noted, citing the report.

Last week, local officials released a brief statement confirming that a woman accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he spoke at an event for Republican women in Monterey, California.

Hegseth’s lawyer said he paid the woman in 2023 to avoid the threat of a frivolous lawsuit. The AP noted that the report did not say that police found the allegations to be false. Authorities recommended that the case report be forwarded to the Monterey County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

What did the police find?

Authorities were first alerted to the alleged assault by a nurse who called them after a patient requested a sexual assault exam, the AP said, citing the report.

The patient told medical staff that she believed she had been assaulted five days earlier, but did not remember much of what happened.

RELATED: Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary: Trump’s nomination catches DC off guard

She reported that she may have slipped something into her drink before arriving at the hotel room where she said the alleged assault took place. Authorities collected an unwashed dress and underwear she had worn that night.

According to the report, the woman’s partner, who was staying with her at the hotel, told authorities he was worried about her that night after she never returned to their room.

At 2 in the morning, he went to the hotel bar, but she was not there. The report stated that she returned a few hours later, apologizing that she “must have fallen asleep”. A few days later, she told him that she had been sexually assaulted.

What did the woman say about the incident?

The woman, who helped organize the California Republican Federation rally at which Hegseth spoke, told authorities she witnessed the TV host acting inappropriately throughout the night and saw him fondle several women’s thighs. She texted a friend that Hegseth gave off a “creeper” vibe, according to the report.

RELATED: How does Pete Hegseth’s experience compare to former defense secretaries?

According to the AP, citing the report, “After the event, the woman and others went to an after-party in a hotel suite, where she said she confronted Hegseth, telling him she ‘didn’t appreciate the way he treated women”.

A group of people, including Hegseth and the woman, left the hotel bar, and the woman told police that’s when “things got fuzzy.”

The report noted that the woman recalled drinking at the bar with Hegseth and others, the police report said. And she also told authorities she got into an argument with Hegseth by the hotel pool, an account backed up by a hotel employee who was sent to deal with the disturbance and spoke to officers.

Afterward, the woman told police she was in a hotel room with Hegseth, who took her phone and blocked the door with his body so she couldn’t leave, and she also told police she remembered that he said “saying ‘no’ a lot”. according to the report.

According to the report, the woman noted that her next memory was lying on a couch or bed with Hegseth hovering over her bare chest, his cuts hanging over her.

After Hegseth finished, the woman recalled asking him if he was “OK,” the report said. She told authorities she has no memory of getting back to her hotel room and has suffered from nightmares and memory loss ever since.

What did Pete Hegseth say about the incident?

Pete Hegseth said he attended an after party and drank beer but no liquor and admitted he was “boomed” but not drunk.

Hegseth said he met the woman at the hotel bar and she led him by the arm back to his hotel room, which caught him off guard because he initially had no intention of having sex with her, the report said.

Hegseth told authorities that the ensuing sexual encounter was consensual, adding that he asked her several times if she was comfortable. Hegseth said in the morning that the woman “showed early signs of remorse” and assured her that she would not tell anyone about the meeting.

Court records obtained by the AP show that at the time of the alleged 2017 incident, Hegseth was going through a divorce with his second wife, with whom he has three children.

She filed for divorce after Hegseth had a child with a Fox News producer, who is now his wife, the AP reported, citing court records and Hegseth’s social media posts. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after Hegseth’s infidelity.