Pete Hegseth accuser told police he raped her in hotel room: report

A California woman accused defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth of sexually assaulting her in his hotel room in 2017 after taking her phone and refusing to let her leave, according to a just-released police report.
The woman told cops that President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon blocked her from leaving the room before forcing himself on her in a boozy encounter at a Republican event in Monterey.
The alleged victim said she believes she was drugged and remembered “saying ‘no’ a lot,” police wrote in the 22-page report released late Wednesday night after a public information request.
Hegseth, a Fox News weekend host and decorated veteran, headed to Capitol Hill Thursday to pitch his controversial nomination to senators.
He denied the charges and told police the encounter was consensual. He admits paying an undisclosed amount to the woman last year to head off a lawsuit.
The police report offers the first detailed account of the allegations against Hegseth, who faces what could be a tricky confirmation battle in the Republican-held Senate.
The name of the accuser, an organizer of the California Federation of Republican Women’s event, has not been released.
The Trump transition team Thursday claimed the report backs up Hegseth’s account of the troubling incident.
“The incident was fully investigated and no charges were filed.” a Trump spokesperson said.
Police recommended the case be forwarded to the prosecutors for review. It’s unclear why they didn’t proceed.
The alleged victim, who reported the incident a few days after the alleged attack, told police that Hegseth had been acting inappropriately throughout the night and saw him feeling up women’s thighs. She texted a friend that Hegseth was giving her “creeper” vibes, according to the report.
She argued with Hegseth by the hotel pool, an account that is supported by a hotel staffer, according to the report.
After feeling hazy, the woman said she wound up inside Hegseth’s hotel room. She told police that he took her phone and blocked the door with his body so that she could not leave before raping her, according to the report
Hegseth, now 44, was going through a divorce at the time of the alleged attack. He acknowledged being “buzzed” but not drunk when he met the woman, whom he told police willingly went with him to his room for sex.
He said the woman “showed early signs of regret” the morning after the encounter, the report says.