Federal jury sides with Taylor Swift in groping case

Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A federal jury in Denver sided with pop star Taylor Swift in her civil lawsuit against a former DJ who groped her during a photo-op in 2013.

The jury ordered David Mueller to pay Swift a symbolic $1 settlement after it decided he committed assault and battery when he reached under the singer's skirt and grabbed her while taking a photo during a backstage meet-and-greet event at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Mueller denied the charges and sued Swift first for trying to get him fired from his DJ job when she told his management about his conduct. But a federal judge on Friday dismissed his lawsuit. Mueller sought $3 million in damages.

Swift, 27, on Thursday gave her first-hand account of the incident to the jury of six women and two men in her counter-lawsuit.

"It was a definite grab, [a] very long grab," Swift said in court. "It was long enough for me to be completely sure it was intentional."

"He stayed latched on my bare ass cheek as I lurched away from him, visibly uncomfortably," she said. "The first couple of milliseconds, I thought it must be a mistake. I moved to the side very quickly."

Mueller said the allegations were false and ruined his career as a radio DJ.

"It cost me my career. It cost me my income. It's been hard on my family. It's been hard on my friends," he said in court.

Swift said that was Mueller's fault for assaulting her.

"I didn't have a reaction to a strange person I didn't know losing his job ... that was a product of his decisions, not mine," she said. "I'm not going to let you or your client make me feel like this is my fault."