The jury’s unanimous verdict in Carroll II was almost entirely in favor of Ms.
Carroll. The only point on which Ms. Carroll did not prevail was whether she had proved that Mr.
Trump had “raped” her within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section of the New York
Penal Law – a section that provides that the label “rape” as used in criminal prosecutions in New
York applies only to vaginal penetration by a penis. Forcible, unconsented-to penetration of the
vagina or of other bodily orifices by fingers, other body parts, or other articles or materials is not
called “rape” under the New York Penal Law. It instead is labeled “sexual abuse.”1
As is shown in the following notes, the definition of rape in the New York Penal Law
is far narrower than the meaning of “rape” in common modern parlance, its definition in some
dictionaries,2 in some federal and state criminal statutes,3 and elsewhere.4