Mohamed Al Fayed was 'monster enabled by system that pervaded Harrods', say victims' lawyers
File photo of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed.
Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods department stores, who has been accused of rape and sexual assault by over 20 women in a documentary, has now been described as a "monster enabled by a system that pervaded Harrods" by lawyers representing the alleged victims.
Mohamed Al Fayed was the owner of the luxury department store Harrods, in London, England, which sells high-end goods and services. He was also the father of Lady Diana's boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed.
Fayed wasa 'predator'
One of his alleged victims said that Fayed was a "predator" who "preyed on the most vulnerable".
The lawyers representing 37 alleged victims of sexual abuse, while speaking at a press conference in London, said that he was a "monster enabled by a system that pervaded Harrods".
BarristerDean Armstrong KC said the case "combines some of the most horrific elements" of those including Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.
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One of his alleged victims, Natacha, described how she was a "young, naive and totally innocent" 19-year-old when she moved to London. Natachasaid that she believed she had been given "the chance of a lifetime" when she was hired at Harrods.
She continued sayingthat she thought it seemed "entirely innocent" when she was offered extra money and gifts to take home to her parents.
Describing Fayed as a "predator", Natacha said, "Unbeknownst to me, I had walked into a lion's den, a lair of cover-ups, deceit, lies, manipulation, humiliation, and gross sexual misconduct", adding that he "preyed on the most vulnerable".
She said she was summoned to Fayed's private apartment one night "on the pretext of a job review" before "the door was locked behind me".
"I saw his bedroom door partially open - there were sex toys on view," Natachasaid. "I felt petrified. I perched myself at the very end of the sofa and then… my boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself onto me."
How she freed herself
Natacha said, that after she managed to "kick herself free", he laughed at her and told her "never to breathe a word of this to anyone", leaving her feeling "scared and sick".
Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, has been accused by five women of rape, while another woman has now come forward to claim she was subjected to a "sickening" sexual assault by the billionaire.
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Reportedly, most of the alleged victims were aged 19 to 24, while some were as young as 15 or 16.
The assaults took place in properties in London, Paris, St Tropez, and Abu Dhabi.
(With inputs from agencies)