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Taylor Swift has come back to the public light these past weeks, but not for a pleasant reason.
Her trial against DJ David Mueller went to court. Four years ago David Mueller allegedly groped the singer during a meet and greet photo session at the Pepsi Center in Denver during her Red Tour.
The sexual assault claims have been going back and forth for some time, but are now finally being heard in court.
The jury reached a verdict today that David Mueller is found guilty.
Here’s everything you need to know about the case.
The Incident
David and his then girlfriend met Taylor during a meet and greet in June 2013 in Denver while on her Red Tour. During the meet and greet David put his hand underneath Taylor’s skirt and grabbed her butt.
After the groping, Taylor had David removed from the concert. Then her mother, Andrea Swift gave his place of work the meet and greet photo. David was fired from work two days after the concert.
David claimed that Taylor’s groping accusations got him fired from his job as the host at country radio station KYGO-FM. But Taylor denied telling the station to fire him.
TMZ leaked the unreleased meet and greet photo in 2016.
Taylor Swift — The 'Sexual Assault' Photo I Wanted to Keep Secret (PHOTO) https://t.co/qT5FRZLo4T
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 12, 2016
The Lawsuits
David filed the first lawsuit against Taylor in September 2015. He sued Taylor, Andrea and radio-promotions director Frank Bell. He sued them for getting him fired and interfering with future business endeavors.
In response Taylor sued him a month later in October 2015. She sued the former DJ for alleged assault and battery.
What is shocking about the case is that Taylor is only suing David for a dollar. She wants to show that this lawsuit isn’t for money, but rather to prove a point that his behavior isn’t acceptable.
David on the other hand is suing the singer for upwards of $3 million.
The Trial
During the trail Taylor, David and Andrea all testified during the hearing. Andrea and Taylor were emotional during the trial. Taylor was crying during the closing arguments. But when testifying she shut down any victim blaming and had a strong stance on her views of the groping.
David’s attorney strategy was to blame Taylor for not reporting to authorities or telling her security right away. He also tried to use the meet and greet photo against her saying that the skirt is not ruffled enough to prove that David’s hand is underneath her skirt on her butt.
Taylor’s legal team is using the photo to show that David’s hand was on her butt.
The photo is the only evidence in the case and both teams are using it. Mueller has been sanctioned for destroying evidence. The destroyed evidence were recorded conversations with his boss Robert Call on the day before he was fired.
The federal judge on the case threw out David’s claims that Taylor’s accusations cost him his job. He said that he couldn’t directly prove the connection. So it just came down to her words versus his and what the jury decides. The jury is made up of six men and two women.
The Verdict
On August 14 at 4:45 PM MDT the jury came to a unanimous decision that David was in fact guilty of sexually assaulting Taylor. They also came to a unanimous decision that Andrea and Frank did not get him fired.
After the verdict was read Taylor hugged her mom and lawyers and her mom cried.
Taylor released a statement at the end of the trial. She thanked the judge and jury. Taylor also thanked her legal team for “fighting for me and anyone who feels silenced by a sexual assault, and especially anyone who offered their support throughout this four-year ordeal and two-year long trial process.”
She ended her statement by acknowledging her financial privilege that has allowed her to afford putting this case through trial. Taylor says that she is planning on donating to multiple organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.
