Women accuse West Ham billionaire David Sullivan of preying on him for sex
David Sullivan is accused of appearing on the Panorama show. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Businessman David Sullivan faces numerous allegations that he engaged in predatory behavior to obtain sex with young women, allegations he denies. A new Panorama show on the BBC, Predator: The Billionaire Football Boss, spoke to seven women who say he was sexually exploitative towards them.
The women who spoke were all models who were in their late teens or early 20s when they met Sullivan and were looking for work in his daily newspapers and Sunday Sports newspapers. The allegations include:
* ‘Florence’ (not her real name) said she felt forced to have sex with him even though she didn’t want to.
* “Mia” said she went to his house for a meeting and felt she had no choice but to have sex if she wanted to be in the newspaper.
* The two women said they went to his house with their mother. Both men accused Sullivan of trying to force them to have sex.
* A teenage model, called “Beth” on the show, arrived for a meeting and found Sullivan lying in bed wearing a dressing gown. He asked her to parade topless for him.
Sullivan, 77, said in a joint investigation with Panorama and the Times that he “categorically” denies the allegations. The allegations extend to a period during which he amassed a fortune from pornography, newspapers and football.
Sasha Wall met David Sullivan as a 24-year-old glamor model (Image: BBC)
The investigation also alleges that Sullivan separately admitted in the 1990s to paying for sex with girls who were said to be 16 or 17 years old. Sullivan would have been in his 40s at the time. In 2003, it became illegal to pay for sex with a 16- or 17-year-old.
Sasha Wall was a 24-year-old glamor model when she met Sullivan. She is the only alleged victim of Sullivan’s predatory behavior named in the investigation. She said she went to the Essex address in 1998 expecting a business meeting, but discovered it was Sullivan’s private residence.
“He told me to get changed, so I went into the ensuite of this bedroom. And I took off my dress and came out of the ensuite with my bra and knicker heels on. And I was standing there in my bra and underwear. But he told me to take off my bra. I was still going, okay, so he needs to see me live. I can do this. I can get the job done.
“So I took off my bra, and when he asked me to sit next to him, I thought, what’s going on? This isn’t part of the job interview. When I walked up to him, I put my bra back on and sat as far away as I could. He bent over and said he could put me in the paper, but he needed me to be one of his special friends.”
“So I told him no and said, ‘If you think I’m going to sleep with you to get in the paper, then something else is going to happen. He looked really shocked when I said that.’
Sasha was then asked if she would have sex, which shocked her, to which she replied: “Absolutely not.” Sasha added, “I went to the door and at that point I realized it was locked. At that point I did a f*ck myself and at that point I was like, ‘Fuck open the door.’ Sasha said Sullivan opened the door and ran out.
In testimony given to the Times, a model who identified herself as Florence for the investigation made the allegations against Sullivan.
Florence, who was 20 at the time, claims that during their meeting, Sullivan promised to boost her career and make her one of the “normal girls” featured in publications if she agreed to have sex with him at his residence.
She said she tried to make it clear that she didn’t want to have sex, including that she was on her period and that her boyfriend, who accompanied her to the meeting, was waiting for her at home.
But she alleges that Sullivan persisted and eventually took her to a bedroom next to his office and had sex with her.
“He took away my innocence. What he did sent me into a spiral that continued for years and years and years,” she said.
Sullivan “categorically denies” all allegations made on the show. Regarding Florence, he told Panorama that he disputed her recollection of the house’s layout, which made her claims implausible.
Florence provided investigators with diaries, business cards, and newspaper clippings to support her version of events.
Tonight’s Panorama is advertised on the BBC website (Image: BBC)
Mr Sullivan resigned as West Ham co-chairman with immediate effect on Saturday (6 June), shortly after being told by Panorama that the program would be broadcast on Monday night. “After very careful consideration, it is with heavy hearts that I have decided to step down as co-chairman and director of West Ham United FC with immediate effect,” he said in a statement.
“This is an incredibly difficult decision, but one made out of love, respect and responsibility for our football club and fan base, and our focus is on absolute unity and moving forward.”
He said it was to counter false allegations about his actions. He added: “I have spent my life building a business in the adult industry and have met thousands of women, but it is sadly inevitable that a small number of allegations of inappropriate conduct will be made against me.”
He continued: “I think the whole process is fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in due impartiality.”
“The false allegations leveled against me have been sensationalized by the media. I intend to sue the BBC for defamation, along with other media organizations that have repeatedly made defamatory claims. None of these claims have anything to do with my 30-plus year football career. I am stepping down to focus my efforts and attention on combating these false claims.”
Sullivan is known by some as the “King of Porn” and is one of the richest men in the country.
He oversees his media, real estate and publishing empire from his 14-bedroom Essex mansion.
Sullivan made his fortune selling sex in a pre-Internet world through adult magazines, movies, telephone chat lines and newspapers filled with topless glamor models and teenage girls who had just turned 16.
He founded Sunday Sports in 1986, followed by Daily Sports in 1991. He took over Birmingham City in 1993 with business partner David Gold. But he is perhaps best known for taking over the role at West Ham in 2010 with his business partner.
Although he has stepped down as co-chairman, he remains the club’s largest single shareholder with a 38.8% stake. It appears that he is currently considering selling his holdings.
Last month, Baroness Karen Brady, who has worked with Mr Sullivan for decades and also appears as Lord Sugar’s assistant on BBC One’s The Apprentice, stepped down as vice-chairman with five games remaining in the season. West Ham were relegated from the Premier League last month.
* Panorama aired tonight on the BBC.
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