You have to figure that if you’re ever accused of committing a rape over 25 years ago by someone who isn’t sure what day or even what year the attack took place, and who hasn’t produced any physical evidence to back their claims, that you’ll be pretty unlikely to be found guilty. Even if they produce a couple of friends who testify they heard about the incident at the time, that’s a pretty easy tale to concoct. It certainly isn’t enough to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. Even in a civil case where the evidence only needs to be more likely than not, you’d assume a jury unlikely to tar someone with committing sexual assault with such a threadbare case. But you’re not Donald Trump.

Trump’s problem is that he’s too conceited to actually speak in his defense, and too lacking in credibility to win any benefit of the doubt. When he claimed not to know E. Jean Carroll, a picture was produced of the two of them together. After he said she was not his type, he confused her with his ex-wife Marla Maples. Meanwhile, Carroll’s lawyers established a pattern of behavior stretching several decades of Trump being sexually aggressive with women, and they had his own words from the infamous Access Hollywood tape where be bragged about grabbing women by the pussy and getting away with it because he’s famous. That and Carroll’s say-so were sufficient to produce a unanimous decision from a jury of six men and three women that he did indeed commit sexual assault and then defamed Carroll when she wrote about it. He’s been ordered to pay $5 million in damages.

To be sure, there are areas of the country where Trump has enough credibility that the outcome might have been different. It’s too bad for him that the assault didn’t take place in those areas. His only consolation is that the jury could have found him liable for committing rape but settled for a lesser charge of sexual assault. And I guess he can comfort himself that he won’t go to prison or have to register as a sex offender. This only happened because the story Carroll told seemed completely plausible, and his response only made it more so.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stated the obvious to Brian Kilmeade on Fox News:

“[Trump’s] response, to me, was ridiculous — that he didn’t even know the woman. I mean, you know, how many coincidences are we going to have here with Donald Trump, Brian? I mean, he must be the unluckiest S.O.B in the world. He just has random people who he has never met before, who are able to convince a jury that he sexually abused them. I mean, this guy. It is one person after another, one woman after another. The stories just continue to pile up.”

Of course, Trump still has his supporters in the Republican Party. Tommy Tuberville, the senior senator from Alabama, said that the verdict “makes me want to vote for him twice.” That’s presumably because Tuberville believes it’s all part of a “witch hunt” and not because he’s super enthusiastic about violence against women, but I’m not even sure anymore.

Here’s what I do know. Trump has committed so many crimes and offenses impacting so many vital components of our country that he absolutely deserves to be tied to the whipping post. And that’s what this verdict was–just a couple of lashes in a long series. He will be held to account. His charity has been shuttered and his business found guilty of “tax fraud and falsifying business records.” He’s going on trial on similar charges in Manhattan, and he will likely lose. He’s going to face more state charges in Georgia and in federal court related to his coup attempt, and he’ll likely face federal obstruction of justice charges and perhaps charges related to the mishandling of classified information. I wouldn’t rule out federal wire and mail fraud charges and maybe even something related to campaign financing. Add to this that he was impeached twice, and the second time found guilty by a 57-vote majority of the Senate.

For a long time it looked like he’d never face meaningful consequences for all his wrongs, but he’s getting his comeuppance. And E. Jean Carroll can be proud to have made a powerful and meaningful contribution to justice. She has real courage.