A former personal assistant to Mohamed Al-Fayed has accused the disgraced businessman of groping her in front of their three children when she was just 19.
Catherine met the owner of Harrods in 1990 during an interview for the position in his office inside the luxury department store and was hired immediately.
Although she thought she had landed her ‘dream job’, it soon turned into a nightmare when, after just a few months on the job, she was invited to Al-Fayed’s country mansion in Oxted, Surrey.
But while she was there, Catherine claims he “put his hand under my skirt and touched me a little bit,” all while three of their children were in the room.
Catherine, now in her 50s, is still haunted by her harrowing experience with “monster” Al-Fayed, along with dozens of other women who have accused the late billionaire of sexual assault and, in some cases, rape.
While Al-Fayed did not face justice for his alleged crimes, after his death last year at the age of 94, it emerged that prosecutors twice failed to bring charges against him while he was alive.
Mohamed Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, is accused of raping and assaulting several women during his time as owner of Harrods between 1985 and 2010.
The late former boss of Harrods has been accused of dozens of sexual assaults by at least 20 women who worked at the prestigious Knightsbridge department store.
A former personal assistant to Al-Fayed has accused the disgraced businessman of groping her in front of their three children at his Surrey mansion (pictured) when she was just 19.
Al-Fayed acquired Harrods from House of Frasier in 1985 for £615m and retained ownership until 2010, when he sold the department store to Qatar Holdings for £1.5bn.
Catherine said she was hired as a personal assistant at the department store in 1990, when she was 19.
Four or five months into her tenure there, she was invited to Al-Fayed’s country mansion in Oxted to help his daughter Camilla with piano lessons.
She told the Sunday Telegraph: “When I arrived, he introduced me to his children and his wife. He made me feel that if I worked for him, it was like family.”
Catherine said he led her to a huge game room with a piano inside and also a ball park for children.
“He suddenly picked me up, put his hand under my skirt, groped me and threw me into the water,” she said. “I remember going under and coming to the surface and everyone was laughing at me.”
Catherine recalled that the sexual assault took place in front of three of Al-Fayed’s children and just after his wife left the room.
Later that night, he tried to assault her again, but fortunately she was able to defend herself before blocking her room with a dresser, Catherine said.
Just months after the alleged incident, Catherine was fired from her position after pushing Al-Fayed when “he tried to climb up my blouse”.
The late billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed has been described as “a monster” amid allegations he raped several women who worked for him at Harrods.
Al Fayed unveils a memorial to his son Dodi and Britain’s Diana, Princess of Wales at Harrods, London, in 2005
Lawyers representing women who say they were sexually assaulted by Al Fayed say they have had “more than 150 new enquiries” since a damning BBC documentary aired earlier this week.
Five women say they were raped by Al Fayed, while dozens of others have alleged sexual misconduct.
The new investigations refer to a “mix of survivors and people with evidence regarding Al Fayed.”
The Crown Prosecution Service admitted it received evidence from police about Al-Fayed’s alleged crimes but decided not to bring charges against him, The Sunday Times reported.
A CPS spokeswoman told the newspaper: ‘We reviewed files of evidence submitted by police in 2009 and 2015.
‘In order to initiate criminal proceedings, the prosecution must be confident that there is a realistic prospect of conviction.
‘In each case, our prosecutors carefully analyzed the evidence and concluded that this was not the case.’
Lawyer Bruce Drummond, part of the legal team representing 37 alleged victims in a civil case against Harrods, told BBC Radio 4 on Saturday: “This is the worst case of corporate sexual exploitation of young women that I have ever seen, and I think probably the world has ever seen.”
Al Fayed has been accused of raping five women during his 25-year tenure at the luxury retailer (pictured), and at least 15 other women say they were sexually assaulted by him.
Some of Fayed’s attacks are said to have taken place at his Park Lane property in London.
Mr Drummond added that his legal team was working “very closely” with Gloria Allred, considered a stalwart advocate for women’s rights cases in the United States, because the attacks are also alleged to have taken place in the United States.
He said some of the survivors came from Malaysia, Dubai, Canada and France, while the Ritz Hotel in Paris, once owned by Al Fayed, had also been the scene of alleged attacks.
Drummond told the programme: “It’s a very global case, it’s not just about the UK. It happened all over the world.”
Harrods said in a statement earlier this week: “We are absolutely appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed al Fayed.
‘These were the actions of an individual who intended to abuse his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms.
‘We also recognize that during this time as a company we failed our employees who were victims and for this we sincerely apologize.
‘The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Fayed between 1985 and 2010; it is one that seeks to put the wellbeing of our employees at the heart of everything we do.’
Harrods added that it had been a “priority” to resolve the claims since “new information came to light in 2023 about historical allegations of sexual abuse by Fayed”.
Commenting on that statement, Mr Drummond said it was “absolutely inconceivable” that Harrods’ current owners, the state of Qatar, could not have known about any “outstanding claims or liabilities” against the business at the time of their purchase in 2010.
He added: “If you buy a company, you take with you the responsibilities of that company.”
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