Late Harrods boss Al Fayed was a ‘monster’ who abused young women

LONDON (AP) — Mohamed Al Fayed, the former boss of Harrods, was a “monster’ who raped and sexually abused young women, lawyers representing dozens of his accusers said Friday.

The abuse went on through much of Al Fayed’s 25-year tenure — from 1985 on — at the helm of the world-renowned London department store, the lawyers said. They spoke at a televised news conference in London after the BBC documentary “Al-Fayed: Predator At Harrods.”

The four-member legal team told reporters they had been retained by 37 of Al Fayed’s accusers. It added more clients, including potentially from other organizations Al Fayed was involved with.

In the documentary, which was broadcast on Thursday, the Egypt-born Al Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, was accused of raping at least five women at his properties in London and Paris and of committing scores of other acts of assault and physical violence, both in and outside of Harrods.

“We will say it plainly: Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster,” lead lawyer Dean Armstrong said. “But he was a monster enabled by a system, a system that pervaded Harrods.”