WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it. A Canadian is among women who say they were sexually abused by the late former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed while serving as employees at the luxury department store in London, England, CBC News has learned. The Canadian woman is expected to be at a news conference in London on Friday, sources say.
The BBC reported the women's allegations in a documentary and podcast released Thursday, after an investigation heard from more than 20 former Harrods employees who say the billionaire assaulted or raped them. Some were as young as teenagers when they say the alleged incidents took place. Legal action against Harrods is expected to be outlined at the media conference by the legal team featured in the BBC documentary, high-profile American attorney Gloria Allred and at least one survivor.
Al-Fayed, who died in 2023 at the age of 94 , faced some sexual assault claims while he was still living but the BBC says these new allegations are of an "unprecedented scale and seriousness." "It's mad that even today I am petrified of someone who is no longer alive," one of the women, who began working for Al-Fayed in 2007 as his personal assistant, told the BBC. "It started off verbal and groping and progressed pretty quickly.
" Al-Fayed, right, stands with Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani inside Harrods in London on May 8, 2010. (Alastair Grant/T.