US President Donald Trump on Friday denied an accusation by E. Jean Carroll, an advice columnist for Elle fashion magazine, that he raped her in a department store in the 1990s.

New York Magazine published a first-person account from Carroll in which she describes the encounter with the real estate mogul at a Bergdorf Goodman store in Manhattan in 1995 or 1996. The allegation is also included in her upcoming book about the "hideous men" the 75-year-old columnist has encountered throughout her life.

Carroll alleges that Trump pushed her up against a dressing room wall, pulled down her tights and assaulted her in an episode that lasted about three minutes. She said that she pushed him off in what she described as a "colossal struggle" and ran from the store.

According to Carroll, there were no attendants in the dressing room area and she did not file a police report with the New York Police Department. She said she did, however, tell two journalist friends, both of whom confirmed the accounts to New York Magazine.

In a statement, Trump called the accusation "fake news" and said there was no evidence of the encounter, adding: "I've never met this person in my life."

In the buildup to the 2016 presidential election, more than a dozen women accused Trump of sexual misconduct, allegations the US president denied. While those cases generally involved unwanted groping and kissing, Carroll alleged forced penetration.

dv/aw (AFP, AP, dpa)

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