Five women have come forward saying they were raped by Mohamed Al Faed (Picture: PA)
Lawyers representing the women who claim they were raped Mohamed Al Fayed have said he was ‘monster’ and ‘as sick as Jimmy Savile’.
Five women have come forward saying they were raped while working at the luxury department store by the late billionaire who died last year.
More than 20 ex-employees have also claimed they were sexually assaulted at the store or in one of his many properties.
Speaking at a press conference in London today, barrister Dean Armstrong KC said he had ‘never seen a case as horrific as this’.
‘This case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein,’ he said.
‘Savile because in this case, as in that, the institution, we say, knew about the behaviour.
‘Epstein because in that case, as in this, there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls – as you know there are some very young victims.
One of Mr Al Fayed’s accusers, Natacha (right) is reassured by American Attorney Gloria Allred during the press conference (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)
‘And Weinstein, because it was a person at the very top of the organisation who was abusing his power.
‘We will say plainly, Mohammed Al Fayed was a monster.’
One woman, who said Al Fayed raped her at his Park Lane home, said: ‘I made it obvious that I didn’t want that to happen. I did not give consent. I just wanted it to be over.’
Another says she was a teenager when she was raped at the Mayfair address.
She said he treated all the staff at Harrods like his ‘playthings’, adding: ‘Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster, a sexual predator with no moral compass whatsoever.
‘We were all so scared. He actively cultivated fear. If he said ‘jump’ employees would ask “how high”.’
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