Lawyers representing dozens of women who say they were raped and sexually abused by Mohamed Al Fayed, the former boss of the famous London department store Harrods, said the case was akin to the crimes of sex offenders Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.
At a press briefing in London on Friday in the wake of the BBC documentary "Al-Fayed: Predator At Harrods," the lawyers described the Egypt-born businessman who died last year at the age of 94 as a "monster" who abused young women and girls who worked at the department store during his 25-year ownership.
"This case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein," said lead lawyer Dean Armstrong. "Savile because in this case, as in that, the institution, we say, knew about the behavior. 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. And Weinstein, because it was a person at the very top of the organization who was abusing his power."
One of Al Fayed's alleged victims, who went by the name Natacha, told the press conference that the billionaire businessman was "highly manipulative" and "preyed on the most vulnerable, those of us who needed to pay the rent and some of us who didn't have parents to protect them."
In a statement given to the BBC documentary, the new owners of Harrods, who bought out Al Fayed in 2010, said they were "utterly appalled" by the allegations of abuse but added that they were only made aware of them last year.
