Billionaire West Ham co-owner accused of abusing his power and preying on women for sex

Warning: this communicative includes descriptions of alleged intersexual misconduct and explicit language

Multiple women person accused billionaire businessman and West Ham co-owner David Sullivan of abusing his powerfulness and preying connected them for sex, successful immoderate cases erstwhile they were teenagers.

The allegations from 7 women person been uncovered successful a associated probe by BBC Panorama and the Times and span decades, starting successful the 1980s. All travel from women who were successful their precocious teens oregon aboriginal twenties and were young models seeking enactment astatine Sullivan's Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers.

They impeach Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, including pressuring them for enactment during concern meetings, wherever helium offered to boost their careers if they slept with him oregon gave him oral sex.

One of them, Florence (not her existent name), said she felt forced to person enactment with him adjacent though she did not privation to.

Sullivan, 77, said helium "categorically" denies the claims, which span the play erstwhile helium made a luck from pornography, newspapers and football.

On Saturday, hours aft BBC Panorama and the Times confirmed we would beryllium publishing this probe connected Monday, helium resigned arsenic associated seat of West Ham. He said helium wanted to absorption connected warring what helium called "factually incorrect and wholly false, decades-old allegations concerning my idiosyncratic life", describing the probe arsenic "fundamentally unfair".

We tin besides uncover that Sullivan has separately admitted paying for enactment successful the 1990s with a miss who, helium says, helium believed was 16 oregon 17 years old. Sullivan was successful his 40s astatine the time. It lone became amerciable to wage for enactment with a 16 oregon 17 twelvemonth aged successful 2003.

In the 1980s and 90s, Sullivan was a almighty gatekeeper for women hoping to person a vocation successful glamour modelling. Florence said helium had told her during a concern gathering astatine his location that she would beryllium 1 of his newspapers' "regular girls" if they had sex.

Then aged 20, she tried to marque excuses, including that she was connected her period, earlier helium manoeuvred her into a chamber and started having enactment with her, she said. Lawyers for Sullivan described her relationship arsenic implausible.

Two women said they felt they had nary prime but to slumber with him to debar damaging their aboriginal modelling careers, and accused Sullivan of abusing his power. "He was taking vantage of young people," 1 said.

Another erstwhile exemplary said erstwhile she had tried to permission a gathering with Sullivan aft helium propositioned her for sex, she recovered the doorway was locked, and helium lone fto her spell aft she began raising her voice.

Most of the women wanted to stay anonymous, successful immoderate cases due to the fact that they fearfulness Sullivan and are acrophobic astir imaginable repercussions.

Our reporters person corroborated details successful their accounts utilizing diary entries, constabulary and different records and interviews with friends and family, who they person confided in.

We person besides discovered that 8 women person made disclosures astir Sullivan's behaviour to the Met oregon Essex Police, including 1 pistillate who is portion of our investigation.

Sullivan denies each the allegations and was ne'er charged arsenic a effect of them.

Our probe besides raises questions for shot authorities astir what was known astir his behaviour.

'He took distant my innocence'

Florence said she was introduced to Sullivan successful 1999 astatine a concern gathering astatine his location arranged by the Sport's editor-in-chief Tony Livesey - present a BBC Radio 5 Live presenter.

Then a 20-year-old up-and-coming glamour model, she said she arrived astatine the businessman's Essex mansion with her boyfriend, who waited elsewhere portion she went into Sullivan's office.

Florence could not retrieve each detail, including precisely wherever her fellow was seated, but she has elaborate recollections of different aspects of the meeting. It is besides recorded successful her diary, which recounts however she took an aboriginal manager to London costing £14, past a bid and past a taxi.

She remembered being staggered by the size and opulence of the home, portion Sullivan was astatine his table "wearing the scruffiest tracksuit".

Sullivan looked astatine her modelling portfolio, she said, and past asked her to "freshen up" successful a bathroom. Florence said she was truthful naive that helium past had to clarify that helium meant helium wanted her to portion down to her underwear, which she did.

"I'll springiness you a small spot of enactment due to the fact that you've taken the trouble," she recalled him saying. But she said helium past told her successful crude connection that if she fto him person enactment with her, "then you'll beryllium 1 of my regular girls".

"You'll beryllium successful each the magazines. I tin springiness you covers, I tin springiness you centrefolds, and you'll beryllium 1 of my Sport girls," she recalled him saying.

Florence said she panicked and said her fellow was outside, but Sullivan was undeterred, saying: "It volition lone instrumentality a infinitesimal and helium ne'er has to know."

She said she past tried to enactment him disconnected by telling him she was connected her period. "This is the spot that volition haunt maine forever," she said. "He lifted his pinky successful the aerial - his small digit - and helium went, it's each right, I'll lone enactment it successful a small bit."

He past manoeuvred her into a bedroom, she said.

She did not privation to person sex, she told us, but she cannot beryllium definite however she expressed it and whether helium got the message.

She was successful "pure panic mode", Florence said, and she is "99.999999%" definite that she was telling him: "I don't privation to, I don't privation to." But she said she does not cognize however large she said that.

"I don't cognize whether it was a whisper. It wasn't a scream," she said.

Sullivan pulled his jogging bottoms down and past penetrated her, Florence said.

Afterwards, Florence said helium told her: "Congratulations, you volition beryllium 1 of our caller Sport girls and you're going to get tons of work."

Florence said erstwhile reflecting backmost she has asked herself wherefore she did not combat oregon outcry retired for help. She present believes she dissociated during the brushwood and determination was a "massive powerfulness imbalance", she said.

She past got enactment successful the Sport, arsenic she said Sullivan had promised. She said it had made her consciousness "dirty", "disgusting" and arsenic though she was receiving outgo for what she says Sullivan had done to her.

Florence said she did not archer anyone for galore years and did not spell to the constabulary due to the fact that she did not deliberation a glamour exemplary would beryllium believed.

She said her brushwood with the businessman played a portion successful a diminution successful her intelligence health. "He took distant my innocence… I was precise suicidal for galore years," she added. "Up until precise recently, I struggled with my intelligence health."

We person spoken to 3 radical successful whom Florence confided since 2018 astir her gathering with Sullivan. As good arsenic viewing her diary entries, we person seen paper cuttings and concern cards which enactment aspects of her account.

Lawyers for David Sullivan said Florence's relationship is "implausible" fixed the layout of his house.

Livesey said helium had "no recollection" of putting a pistillate connected the telephone to talk to Sullivan arsenic Florence described and that it had not been portion of his relation to present anyone to him.

He said helium had "great sympathy for a pistillate who whitethorn person go a victim", but rejected immoderate proposition that helium had played "any relation whatsoever successful that scenario" and said helium recovered the allegation "abhorrent".

'Preyed connected the vulnerable'

Throughout his career, Sullivan has boasted of his prolific enactment life. He erstwhile claimed to person slept with astir 1,000 women successful a twelvemonth and has besides admitted hiring enactment workers.

Beneath his nationalist persona, determination person agelong been hints astatine much sinister, predatory behaviour. In the 1990s, Sullivan was fixed the nickname "No job/blow job" - a notation to his estimation for asking models to transportation retired oral enactment connected him successful instrumentality for featuring successful his publications.

The Guardian paper erstwhile quoted him arsenic saying: "I've ever said what's the constituent successful owning a saccharine store if you can't devour a fewer sweets."

Some of his associates support him. Nick Cracknell, a person and erstwhile concern partner, said it was "a precise overmuch accepted and well-known information that David slept with a batch of women and helium was precise unfastened astir that".

But our probe has recovered that immoderate of those moving successful the glamour modelling manufacture had concerns astir Sullivan.

One modelling cause told reporters helium would pass young models astir Sullivan, portion different said his institution stopped sending the tycoon models due to the fact that of his estimation for "casting couch" behaviour.

A 3rd agent, however, took a antithetic approach, according to the relationship of a pistillate we are calling Rebecca. The pistillate cause had approached Rebecca connected the thoroughfare and promised a glittering glamour exemplary vocation earning £1,000 a week successful London.

But, aft arriving successful the city, Rebecca said the cause told her she had to bash enactment work. She said the cause besides told her that, to beryllium a exemplary and look successful the Sport newspapers, she would request to person enactment for wealth with Sullivan, idiosyncratic the cause described arsenic a "very bully friend".

"She said to me, conscionable spell successful determination and conscionable bash what helium says," Rebecca said.

During their gathering successful 1998, Sullivan told Rebecca, "don't worry, I won't wounded you," earlier having anal enactment with her, she said. He past told her helium would "sort it retired for you to spell successful the paper, don't interest astir that", she recalled.

Rebecca said she believed Sullivan "preyed connected the vulnerable" and abused his powerfulness successful "casting couch" scenarios. She said she was peculiarly susceptible to maltreatment due to the fact that she was young, neurodivergent and had been a unfortunate of erstwhile intersexual trauma.

"That was the commencement of a lonely, degrading, acheronian clip successful my life," she said.

Many of the women we person spoken to were caller to the manufacture and, dissimilar Rebecca, said they had been unaware of Sullivan's estimation erstwhile they were invited to meetings with him.

Mia - not her existent sanction - was a 20-year-old newcomer when, she said, she had gone to Sullivan's location for a meeting, which she had thought would beryllium astir moving for the Sport.

She said Sullivan led her upstairs and it past became evident helium expected her to person enactment with him.

He asked her to region her apparel and she went on with what helium asked due to the fact that she felt similar she had nary prime if she wanted to beryllium successful the paper, she said. "The door's unopen and you're successful someone's house… I was young, I didn't truly cognize what to truly do, to beryllium honest."

Sullivan had enactment with her, she said, and afterwards helium took wealth retired of a safe, giving £50 to her, contempt nary anterior treatment of payment. She said she believes this was to "shut her up", oregon an effort to discredit her by making her look similar a enactment worker.

She described the incidental arsenic an maltreatment of power. "It shouldn't person happened," she said. "He was taking vantage of young people."

After her archetypal gathering with Sullivan, Mia said she met him again connected 1 different occasion, erstwhile she returned to his house. That time, she said, she went with a young pistillate who - dissimilar Mia - knew Sullivan would privation to bash thing intersexual with her. Mia said the different pistillate went willingly due to the fact that she wanted to gain money, aft she had told her astir what happened during Mia's archetypal visit.

Two women, 1 successful the 1980s and 1 successful the 1990s, said they had been accompanied by their mothers erstwhile they met Sullivan. Both accused him of attempting to unit them into sex.

One, whom we are calling Anna, said she had entered a Sport contention which invited aspiring models to nonstop successful amateur photographs successful the 1990s, erstwhile she was 17.

She had grown up with a violent, abusive begetter and thought becoming a glamour exemplary was a mode to escape. "I thought I could beryllium similar Sam Fox and get loads of wealth and get my ain location with my mum," she said.

After applying, she was invited to an manufacture enactment astatine an Essex nightclub, with her parent arsenic a chaperone. She said she was taken speech by Sullivan and helium told her helium could marque her a prima if she gave him oral sex.

"This is portion my mum's successful the aforesaid room, truthful I'm gladsome I didn't spell connected my ain due to the fact that God knows what would person happened if I had," said Anna.

She was "a spot scared" and declined the offer, she said. The insubstantial published her photograph from the competition, but ne'er offered her immoderate paid work.

A decennary earlier successful the 1980s, different erstwhile model, whom we are calling Wendy, had gone with her parent to Sullivan's location for a concern meeting. Aged astir 20 astatine the time, Wendy said helium took her unsocial into an upstairs chamber and asked her to strip.

"After he'd finished looking maine up and down, helium said thing derogatory astir my hips. Then helium said, if you privation to get anyplace successful this manufacture you request to slumber with me," she recalled.

"I conscionable retrieve thinking, 'well, if I've got to slumber with you past I'd alternatively not get anywhere.'"

She refused to person enactment with Sullivan and does not retrieve being booked for immoderate Sport jobs afterwards.

A teenage exemplary we are calling Beth said she was taken by her cause for a modelling audition successful the 1990s to what turned retired to beryllium Sullivan's house.

Beth was sent upstairs alone, wherever she recovered Sullivan lying successful furniture wearing a dressing gown with his bare thorax connected display, she said.

She said helium asked her to parade topless beside the bed.

Now a mother, Beth said she looks backmost and thinks: "God, that was specified a susceptible presumption that I enactment myself successful arsenic a young girl."

"The men had the power, didn't they?" she added.

Sacha Wall is the lone alleged unfortunate of Sullivan's predatory behaviour who wanted to beryllium named by BBC Panorama and the Times alongside an relationship of her experience.

Then a 24-year-old fledgling glamour model, she said she was expecting a concern gathering erstwhile she acceptable retired for the Essex code she had been fixed successful 1998.

On arrival, she discovered it was Sullivan's backstage home.

Wall had been moving arsenic an security broker and looking for a alteration successful vocation erstwhile she decided to person immoderate modelling photographs taken. They had reached Sullivan and helium had invited her to conscionable him.

She recalled being amazed by however scruffily dressed the businessman was erstwhile she met him, uncovering him successful flip-flops, immoderate well-worn reddish shorts and a T-shirt.

He past began looking done her modelling portfolio, his glimpse moving betwixt her and the photos portion helium said "very nice, precise nice" successful a mode that made her consciousness uncomfortable, she said.

She said she was acrophobic erstwhile helium told her to travel him upstairs and to undress to her underwear, but decided she was consenting to amusement him her fig to get enactment arsenic a topless model.

"But erstwhile helium asked maine to travel and beryllium adjacent to him, I'm like, what is going on? Like, that's not portion of the occupation interview. So I locomotion over, I enactment my bra backmost on… and I sat arsenic acold distant arsenic I could get."

Wall said Sullivan leaned implicit and told her a well-known glamour exemplary was 1 of his "special friends" and she "could person the aforesaid help" if she besides became "one of his peculiar friends".

She said she told him: "If you deliberation I'm going to slumber with you to get successful the paper, you've got different happening coming."

"He looked precise shocked arsenic I said that," she continued. "And past said, what, not adjacent a stroke job?"

"And I was conscionable truthful shocked." She said she told him: "No, decidedly not."

She said she past tried to permission the country but discovered helium had locked the door.

Wall recalled being "really scared" and said she swore and demanded helium unfastened the door, portion Sullivan told her to calm down. She said helium shouted "you're going astir it the hard way" and unlocked the door, earlier she ran downstairs and retired the house.

She aboriginal appeared successful the Sport, but said she was often fixed the worst jobs including erstwhile moving connected the paper's phone-in lines.

We person spoken to 2 radical who accidental Wall told them what happened, including idiosyncratic who said she told them connected the day.

In 2023, Wall decided to marque a study to Essex Police successful case, she said, it helped different women. Six months later, the unit decided to instrumentality nary further enactment successful her case.

Sullivan was arrested by the aforesaid unit successful 2008 connected suspicion of intersexual battle pursuing an allegation made by a 25-year-old woman. No charges were brought.

Essex Police precocious reviewed a fig of cases and determined it had been close successful each 1 to reason that determination had been insufficient grounds to bring immoderate transgression charges.

In 1 case, a unfortunate requested a reappraisal of the determination to instrumentality nary action. The constabulary recovered the archetypal determination to beryllium correct, but a constabulary main described the nonaccomplishment to hunt Sullivan's spot for "items to enactment the investigation" arsenic a "missed opportunity".

Essex Police told this probe "tackling unit against women and girls is simply a cardinal absorption for america and we instrumentality allegations of this quality precise seriously". The Met Police said it besides takes specified allegations "extremely seriously" and "any accusation oregon grounds provided to constabulary volition beryllium assessed and the due enquiries carried out".

The allegations uncovered successful this probe correspond a trial for England's caller shot regulator, acceptable up past year, which has powers to analyse existent owners if determination are concerns astir their honesty and integrity.

Sullivan has been the largest azygous shareholder of West Ham since 2010 and earlier that co-owned Birmingham City for much than 15 years. Before his resignation connected Saturday, helium had served arsenic co-chairman of West Ham passim his clip arsenic owner.

The Football Association launched a safeguarding probe into Sullivan successful the past fewer years. A spokesperson for the FA said it had a "robust safeguarding programme" and took each allegations and concerns "very seriously", but that it was incapable to remark connected idiosyncratic cases.

West Ham past twelvemonth became the archetypal Premier League nine to beryllium accredited by the foundation White Ribbon UK successful designation of the efforts it was taking arsenic an leader to enactment ending antheral unit against women and girls.

Baroness Karren Brady, past vice-chair of West Ham, said pursuing the grant that the nine was "committed to creating a civilization wherever harmful behaviour is called out".

Last period Brady, who has worked with Sullivan for decades and besides appears arsenic Lord Sugar's adjunct connected BBC One's The Apprentice, stood down from her vice-chair relation with 5 games of the play remaining. West Ham were relegated from the Premier League past month.

West Ham said it has wide and robust safeguarding measures successful spot and the nine is incapable to remark oregon supply details connected "any idiosyncratic safeguarding substance arsenic per modular signifier successful the industry".

In his resignation statement, Sullivan said that "after a beingness spent gathering businesses successful the big manufacture successful which I person met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a tiny fig of improper behaviour claims are being made against me".

He described those allegations arsenic "false" and said helium was "absolutely not the idiosyncratic the media has decided to overgarment maine as". Sullivan said helium planned to writer the BBC.

In a statement, White Ribbon said its accreditation was astir organisations "delivering a three-year enactment program that works towards improvement" and is "not a connection about, oregon endorsement of, individuals connected to that organisation".

Additional reporting by Olivia Davies