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Woman Says Trump Sexually Assaulted Her, Offered Her $10,000 For Sex

Woman Says Trump Sexually Assaulted Her, Offered Her $10,000 For Sex
Jessica Drake, who works for an adult film company, listens as attorney Gloria Allred speaks about allegations of sexual misconduct against Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump during a press conference in Los Angeles, California on October 22, 2016. / AFP / Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
MARK RALSTON via Getty Images
Jessica Drake, who works for an adult film company, listens as attorney Gloria Allred speaks about allegations of sexual misconduct against Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump during a press conference in Los Angeles, California on October 22, 2016. / AFP / Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

Adult film star Jessica Drake on Saturday became the 12th woman in recent weeks to allege that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump sexually mistreated her.

Drake said she met Trump at a golf tournament in 2006 in Lake Tahoe, California, where he invited her to come to his hotel suite at the end of the day. She didn’t feel comfortable going alone, she said, so she invited two female friends to go with her.

“When we entered the room, [Trump] grabbed each of us tightly in a hug and kissed each one of us without asking permission,” Drake said, speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles alongside lawyer and women’s rights advocate Gloria Allred.

“He was wearing pajamas,” she said, and added that there was a bodyguard in the room. “He asked me about being an adult film star, details about shooting porn, and asked about our personal relationships and whether we were married or single.”

“After I returned to my room, I received a call from a man calling on Donald’s behalf. He said Donald wanted me to come back upstairs to Donald’s suite, and I indicated I did not wish to return. Then Donald called. He asked me to return to his suite and have dinner with him, and he also invited me to a party,” she said.

When she declined his invitation, Drake said Trump asked her, “What do you want? How much?”

“I told him that I couldn’t because I had to return to L.A. for work,” she continued. “After that I received another call from either Donald or a male calling on his behalf, offering me $10,000. I declined again, and once more gave as an excuse that I had to return to Los Angeles for work. I was then told Mr. Trump would allow me the use of his private jet, if only I accepted his invitation.”

Drake is the 12th woman to come forward this month alleging that Trump sexually mistreated her, and the third person to seek Allred’s help in telling her story to the public. During the press conference, Allred held up a photo of Drake and Trump that was taken during the 2006 golf tournament, and hinted that more women may come forward with allegations against Trump in the future.

“Collectively, his words and his actions are a huge testament to his character,” Drake said; “that of uncontrollable misogyny, entitlement and being a sexual assault apologist. This is not acceptable behavior for anyone, much less a presidential candidate.”

Trump has denied each and every one of the women’s allegations, which span decades. On Saturday, the Republican nominee promised to sue his accusers after the presidential election is over. “Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign,” Trump said during a speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. “Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.”

In her introductory remarks, Allred responded to Trump’s threat with a threat of her own, saying, “Be careful what you wish for, Mr. Trump. If you sue the accuser, the lawyers who represent these women will have the opportunity to depose you under oath, and ... you may find that the questions include all of the women with whom you have had sexual interactions.”

The Trump campaign issued a statement shortly after Drake’s press conference, calling the allegations “false and ridiculous.”

“The picture is one of thousands taken out of respect for people asking to have their picture taken with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump does not know this person, does not remember this person and would have no interest in ever knowing her,” the campaign said, adding that Drake’s announcement was “just another example of the Clinton campaign trying to rig the election.”

Like many of the women before her, Drake said her decision was sparked by watching a 2005 video of Trump bragging about getting away with assaulting women because of his celebrity status. The video, first reported by the Washington Post, sent Trump’s presidential campaign into a tailspin and has since driven his support among women to historically low numbers.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.