The late Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of both British department store Harrods and soccer team Fulham FC, is facing new allegations of sexual abuse related to his ownership of the soccer club from 1997-2013.
The legal group Justice for Harrods Survivors, which already represents 60 alleged victims, said that they have now received over 200 inquiries from additional victims on accusations including serial rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, and sexual abuse of minors.
Mohamed Al Fayed will go down as among the most notorious abusers in recent history. His money and power, particularly as the owner of the department storeHarrods, allowed him to build a dangerously toxic work environment where he could abuse women with impunity. It's tragic that due to this power, his victims only felt capable of speaking up after his death.
This case goes beyond a toxic work environment and to the top of British society. It's no wonder that the man who had financial ties to members of parliament and had a relationship with the former Duke of Windsor was never prosecuted. Women were likely kept quiet not just by their powerful boss but by the entire upper echelon of British society — this is an issue of deep systemic abuse.