Whilst sexual assault is terrible we must remember that was determined only on the balance of probabilities and not beyond reasonable doubt.
It may seem like a distinction without a difference, but it’s an important part of our legal system.
Distinctions without a difference aside,
You know what seems like a distinction with a very important difference?
“Judge clarifies: Yes, Trump was found to have raped E Jean Carroll.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/19/trump-carroll-judge-rape/
They literally changed the legal code because of rape apologists since NY was one of the last states that didn’t consider vaginal penetration without consent rape unless a penis was involved.
Which, after and not before you get shaeshanked in the dufrane, you can feel free to distinguish your differences.
Because of dumps vaginally penetrating someone without their consent, regardless of method, that is also legally considered rape in New York
Dumps is a rapist by most legal definitions, his crime is one of rape today because of the sexual assault he committed and was held liable for, and the judge made it perfectly clear that dumps is a rapist in case anyone was confused.
Sure, it still isn’t a criminal conviction. Perhaps there was sufficient evidence for a criminal conviction and perhaps there isn’t. I don’t know.
One may conclude that in all likelihood he has committed such a crime. However, we cannot claim he has been convicted for such a crime, because he wasn’t (in the context of that civil matter).
Innocent until proven guilty is a valuable principle and politics is a trivial reason to dispense with it.
I didn’t say it was a criminal conviction, you’re confused.
“we cannot claim he has been convicted for such a crime” - do not claim that. This was a civil case, not a criminal case, so when trump was found liable for rape, he was not “convicted”, a legal term used to define guilt in a criminal case, not a civil case.
The likelihood of his guilt in raping Carroll in this civil case is called his “liability”.
As a consequence of the evidence presented, trump was found liable of sexual assault that is defined as rape in most states, and the judge presiding over that case clarified that Trump was found liable(legal term for “responsible”), for the rape of Jean Carroll, since the only thing that differs between this sexual assault and rape was New York’s antiquated legal wording that has since been updated.
