The latest news about Donald Trump isn't being reported, except in The Huffington Post by Lisa Bloom, an attorney and a legal analyst for NBC News and AVVO.  Victims must be believed, but to be believed, they must first be heard.  Bloom reports that a federal lawsuit has been filed against Donald Trump by a Jane Doe, alleging he raped her in 1994 when she was just 13 years old.  (This, by the way, isn't the first time Donald Trump has been accused of rape in a federal lawsuit, Ms. Bloom reports in detail.)  Trump, however, continues to insult and belittle women in the vilest and savage of ways, no matter what he is accused of.  He must think he's king of the jungle.

The Jane Doe lawsuit includes an affidavit from a Tiffany Doe who swears she witnessed four incidents of the Sexual Abuse of Jane Doe committed by Donald Trump.  She also swears she witnessed sexual abuse of Tiffany Doe committed by Trump's friend, Joseph Epstein, who is now a Level 3 sex offender because of his conviction of "sexual misconduct" with another underage girl.  Bloom, an attorney who represents victims of sexual abuse and who has reviewed the court documents, says Jane Doe's claims "merit sober consideration and investigation."   She and I as attorneys know that associating with known criminals doesn't make one a criminal.  But the sworn testimony of the witness matches the alleged victim's account, and one must pay attention to that.

What about "alleged victims," anyway?  You may remember my piece, "What Would You Say if I Told You? Talking About Child Sexual Abuse," where I began by exploring the claims of sexual abuse by Dylan Farrow, in which she said Woody Allen raped her.  Who listened to Ms. Farrow?  Not enough people,  just like not enough are listening to-- or even hearing about-- Jane Doe.  In that piece, I discussed the importance of the details Ms. Farrow provided (as Jane Doe and Tiffany Doe provided in this federal lawsuit against Donald Trump), the difficulty of being a victim who speaks out, first from just having to tell, and second, for the hurt and shame that come with not being believed.  And I strongly stated that victims must be believed, for their own sake.  If it turns out that the accused is innocent, that will come out soon enough.  The further damage that can be done to a victim who isn't believed during that time is unspeakably cruel, not merely insult added to injury.

Also in "What Would You Say if I Told You...", I explored a case in which I represented a victim of child sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by the husband of the girl's mother.  The state attorney's office felt this abuse had, indeed, occurred, but they did not have enough evidence to assure a successful prosecution.  They came to me to help the girl obtain civil justice in the form of a restraining order against the perpetrator.  Obtaining that order, knowing that the judge, the state attorney, the victims' advocates, and I-- along with her mother, who was at first skeptical-- believed her gave that young lady the validation she so desperately needed and helped her begin her process of healing.

I'll leave you with Bloom's final words:

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