E. Jean Carroll, journalist and former Miss Indiana University, says Trump assaulted her

An acclaimed advice columnist and former Miss Indiana University said President Donald Trump assaulted her in the dressing room of an elegant New York City department store more than 20 years ago, a claim Trump has denied.

E. Jean Carroll, in a graphic, first-person account published in New York Magazine, said Trump pulled down her tights in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room and sexually assaulted her.

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The encounter, which she said occurred in the mid-1990s, began as friendly. She greeted him as "that real-estate tycoon," and he greeted her as "that advice lady." Trump said he was looking to buy a present for "a girl," who is not identified.

Trump asked Carroll to try on a lace bodysuit he was considering, she wrote. The two then made their way to a dressing room, where events turned violent.

The episode lasted no longer than three minutes, Carroll said. It was the last time she had sex, she wrote.

The incident was not reported to the police, and Carroll said she told just two close friends about it. One told her to go to the police. The other told her to forget about it, she wrote.

Bergdorf Goodman said it no longer has video footage from that long ago, Carroll wrote.

On why she didn't come forward with her accusation before now, Carroll wrote: "Receiving death threats, being driven from my home, being dismissed, being dragged through the mud, and joining the 15 women who’ve come forward with credible stories about how the man grabbed, badgered, belittled, mauled, molested, and assaulted them, only to see the man turn it around, deny, threaten, and attack them, never sounded like much fun. Also, I am a coward."

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Trump denied Carroll's accusation emphatically, saying: "I've never met this person in my life. She is trying to sell a new book — that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section."

There is a photo of Trump and Carroll together around 1987 — years before the alleged assault — in the New York Magazine story, along with Trump's ex-wife, Ivana Trump, and Carroll's then-husband.

Carroll's account is an excerpt from her upcoming book, "What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal," which publishes July 2. The excerpt also depicts a time she says she was assaulted as a freshman at Indiana University and a time she says she was assaulted by Les Moonves, who was ousted as CEO of CBS after he was accused of varying degrees of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women.

Moonves also denied Carroll's allegation that he assaulted her.

Donald Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women since the 1980s. He has denied all of the allegations.

Carroll, who grew up in Fort Wayne, has written her "Ask Jean" column for Elle magazine since 1993. An IU alumna, she was a cheerleader and was crowned Miss Indiana University in 1963.

Carroll did not immediately respond to a request to comment from IndyStar.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story. 

Andrew Clark is Facebook editor for IndyStar. Call him at 317-444-6484 or email him at andrew.clark@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Clarky_Tweets. 

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: E. Jean Carroll says Donald Trump assaulted her in Bergdorf Goodman