The writer E. Jean Carroll, who has accused former President Donald Trump of allegedly raping her in 1996, testified in a civil lawsuit in New York on Wednesday.

Carroll took the stand for about three and a half hours before a Manhattan jury and testified until about 4 p.m. local time (2000 GMT). She is expected to continue her testimony on Thursday.

"I'm here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn't happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I'm here to try and get my life back," Carroll said as she described the events.

The 79-year-old said that Trump allegedly raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store almost 30 years ago.

Trump had denied the accusation and denied ever having crossed paths with her.

"This is a fraudulent and false story — Witch Hunt!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.

Trump was not in court and is not required to attend. But he is facing several other court cases, which could prove to hinder him as he seeks a third run at the White House in 2024.

How did Trump's accuser describe the incident?

Carroll was working for Elle magazine at the time where she wrote a long-running advice column.

She has said that Trump asked her for help choosing a gift for a woman. They allegedly ended up in a dressing room after looking around the store and making small talk. Here Carroll has said that Trump pushed her against the wall and raped her.

She said that she was then able to flee after a few minutes.

Carroll is suing Trump for defamation after he denied her accusations of rape in a Truth Social post in October. She is also suing him under New York's Adult Survivors Act which allows rape victims to sue their abusers even after the statutes of limitations have expired.

Judge warns Trump over social media use

Carroll's lawyers informed Judge Lewis Kaplan of Trump's Wednesday post again denying the accusations against him.

"What seems to be the case is that your client is basically endeavoring, certainly, to speak to his quote-unquote public, but, more troubling, the jury in this case about stuff that has no business being spoken about," Kaplan told Trump's lawyer.

He added that Trump's post was "a public statement that, on the face of it, seems entirely inappropriate."

Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina pointed out that the jury — made up of six men and three women — had been told not to follow the news or online commentary regarding the case.

But he also said he would ask Trump "to refrain from any further posts about this case."

Carroll is seeking unspecified damages and a retraction of his defamatory comments in which he accused her of lying, using words such as "hoax," "scam," and "complete con job."

rm, ab/jcg (AP, Reuters)