LONDON — Jen and Cheska are among hundreds of women who have accused the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed of sexual assault and they have told AFP of their “huge anger” that his alleged campaign of abuse and humiliation went unpunished.
“It looked like the dream job,” said Jen, who was 16 when she joined the London department store considered to be the height of glamour.
But the prestige came at a price. Lawyers said Friday that more than 400 women and witnesses linked to Harrods, Fulham football club, the Ritz hotel in Paris and other Fayed entities have come forward in the past six weeks to allege that he raped or assaulted them.
Jen worked at the London store from 1986, a year after the billionaire bought it, until 1991.
Cheska Hill-Wood was 19 in 1994 when she began working for the former tycoon, who died last year at the age of 94.
Fayed was there from the moment they interviewed, they explained.
Cheska, who was an art student, believes Fayed’s team spotted her photo in a magazine before she was contacted by Harrods.
“I guess my face fitted his requirements. I was young and very naive,” she said.
After being hired, a Harrods doctor subjected Jen and Cheska to gynaecological examinations.
