The woman who accused Pete Hegseth of sexually assaulting her in October 2017 told a male friend he “scares me” in a text message exchange that took place just hours before the alleged assault.
The messages, obtained by DailyMail.com, were sent to a close male associate. They reveal her distaste for the former Fox News host whom she claims she doesn’t recognize and who, she notes, “our ladies are drooling over.”
The woman – identified only as Jane Doe – had attended a conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey, California, where Hegseth was also present.
In the texts sent on October 7, Doe asks, “Do you know Pete Hegseth?” to which the respondent replies: ‘Name sounds familiar…Who is he?’
Doe says, “He’s a contributor to Fox. I think he’s outnumbered by Fox and friends. Anyway, our ladies are drooling over him.”
She then sends a photo of Hegseth on a stage and notes, “He’s wearing a ring on his index finger.” It scares me.’
DailyMail.com has learned that the event was the 40th biennial convention of the California Federation of Republican Women, with Trump’s increasingly controversial nominee for secretary of defense as the keynote speaker.
Later that night, Doe texts, “This Pete guy is a…tooooool.”
Allegations of the October 8, 2017 attack – which never led to charges – have threatened Pete Hegseth’s nomination for a seat in Trump’s Cabinet
Messages obtained by DailyMail.com and sent by the woman identified only as Jane Doe to a close male associate reveal her dislike for the former Fox host. The text exchange took place during a conference in October 2017
Asked: ‘How is that?’ She replies, “I’ll tell you when I get back hopefully soon,” in a text message sent at almost 2am.
The texts are included in the Monterey Police Department’s 23-page report, prepared in connection with the incident after a Kaiser Permanente Hospital nurse contacted officers when the woman came in requesting a sexual assault investigation .
She alleged that the attack occurred sometime during the night of October 7 or the early hours of October 8, 2017 at the Hyatt Hotel in Monterey.
She told officers that there was a banquet that evening that lasted longer than expected, followed by an afterparty in the presidential suite where she drank champagne.
She then went with a group of women to the Knuckles Sports Bar, attached to the hotel, where, she said, “things got sketchy.”
Doe did not remember how much she drank, but told officers she had consumed “much more than normal alcoholic beverages throughout the day.”
She said Doe did not like the way Hegseth, 44, who was present at the bar, behaved toward many of the women in the group and accused him of groping several of them.
According to the account attributed to her, Hegseth “rubbed the women’s legs and Jane Doe found his actions inappropriate. Jane Doe texted…that Hegseth was getting a creeper vibe. The women thought Hegseth was ‘dreamy’ and wanted to take a picture with Hegseth.’
In one message, the woman points out that Hegseth was wearing a ring on his “index finger” and that it “scared her”
In texts sent on October 7, 2017, the woman tells her boyfriend Hegseth that he is wearing a ring on his index finger that ‘scares her’
She later sends a text describing Hegseth as an “instrument”
Doe told officers that she remembered walking out of the bar and that Hegseth must have followed her as they argued poolside about his behavior in the bar. She remembered Hegseth telling her “he was a nice guy.”
The next thing Doe remembered was being in a hotel room with no memory of how she got there and Hegseth blocking the door with his body. The report states, “Jane Doe recalled saying “no” many times. Jane Doe said she didn’t remember much else.”
Her next memory was of Hegseth’s dog tags “floating over her face,” and him leaning over her, bare-chested. The next memory she had was when Hegseth ejaculated over her stomach, then threw her a towel and asked, “Are you okay?”
Police spoke to witnesses who recalled a couple arguing loudly by the pool and a hotel employee trying to intervene, only to have Hegseth “swear” at him.
According to that worker, Doe apologized on his behalf and escorted Hegseth out of the pool.
Another woman present that evening recalled repeatedly rejecting Hegseth’s advances and apparent attempts, she claimed, to have sex with her.
When she spoke to police in the aftermath of the night, she claimed that Hegseth put his hand on her knee during a conversation with Knuckles – she “made it clear that his hand on her knee was not acceptable.”
Despite this, she told officers that she did not feel uncomfortable, but that Hegseth “invited her back to his hotel room.” (She) stated that she had politely declined the invitation.
“(She) stated that she had gotten Jane Doe’s attention and that Jane Doe had become a ‘cross blocker.’ A cross blocker is a slang term used to describe someone’s actions and to prevent someone from having sex.
Woman who accused Pete Hegseth of assault thought something slipped into her drink as police report of alleged incident has been released
The California Federation of Republican Women shared images of Hegseth speaking at a women’s conference at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa in October 2017
Newly elected President Donald Trump announced 44-year-old Hegseth as his nominee for Secretary of Defense on November 14.
“By having Jane Doe join (her) and Hegseth’s conversation, (she) hoped that Jane Doe’s presence would circumvent Hegseth’s attempt to have sex with (her).”
At the time, Hegseth had been separated from his second wife, Samantha, 43, – the mother of his three young sons – for just a month and was the new father of a child just two months old.
His mistress, Fox & Friends executive producer Jennifer Rauchet, 47, had just given birth to their daughter Gwen in August.
For his part, Hegseth did not deny having intercourse with Doe, but told police the encounter was completely consensual.
He told officers that he “constantly asked Jane Doe if she was okay because he didn’t want Jane Doe to get in trouble.”
Doe was married and he assured her not to worry about him saying anything about their interaction, but that upon her departure he noted that she was showing “early signs of regret.”
The officer noted, “Hegseth did not address the signs of remorse.”
At the end of the report, which was completed on October 26, 2017, the officer recommended that the case be forwarded to the Monterey County Attorney’s Office for review.
The city of Monterey, California has released the police report of the alleged rape that occurred in the early morning hours of October 8, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa.
Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer Hegseth
Hegseth occasionally filled in on the weekday Fox & Friends, including this Friday in August 2019 when he appeared with Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade
They have not filed charges, but Hegseth has admitted to paying the woman to settle a lawsuit out of fear he would lose his job at Fox.
His lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, has described Doe as the “aggressor” on the night in question and labeled her actions as blackmail.
“He was falsely accused, and my position is that he was the victim of blackmail,” Parlatore said.
According to Parlatore, this was nothing more than a case of ‘successful extortion’.