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BRITISH model Bianca Gascoigne says she was groomed and sexually assaulted by Mohamed Al Fayed as a teenager.
The 37-year-old daughter of football legend Paul Gascoigne had visited the Harrods department store in Knightsbridge multiple times with her parents as a child.
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Owner Al Fayed would be "charming" and bring them gifts, so by the time Bianca was 16 she felt "safe" in his presence when she got a job at the luxury store, she said.
The businessman - who was also previously chairman of Fulham FC - died in August last year and has since been accused of raping and sexually assaulting a string of women.
TRAPPED
Celebrity Big Brother star Bianca, who has recently welcomed her first child, said Al Fayed would grope her and force her to kiss him during their weekly meetings.
She said one night he offered her his Harrods Park Lane apartment to stay at before a flight.
Speaking to Sky News, Bianca said she was "shell-shocked" when he turned up at the property while she was there.
"I just didn't really know what to do, he came in and then he sat me down on the sofa... he got his privates out and got my hands and was trying to manoeuvre them on his parts.
"When that didn't work he was trying to force my head on to his lap."
She said she doesn't know how but she managed to "wiggle away", adding: "It was horrific."
Bianca had joined Harrods as a shop floor worker before being promoted to her "dream" job of a fashion buyer.
Fayed made indecent proposal that left Diana shaking, reveals Paul Burrell
She said she didn't want to bring "embarrassment and shame" on herself by telling anyone of what Al Fayed was doing to her.
She said while the alleged abuse was being carried out she was "trying to work out what was going on" and was worried about losing her job.
Bianca claimed Al Fayed warned her that if she told anyone she would be sacked.
"I look back now and just feel very sorry for my 16-year-old self and wish I could protect her," she added.
Bianca said Al Fayed would make derogatory remarks about her dad Gazza in relation to his alcohol problems, and would tell her to see him as a "father figure" instead.
Since Fayed died aged 94 last year, about 500 women have said they were sexually assaulted or raped by him.
Cops are probing 61 reports.
The Sun has approached Harrods for comment.
Former Fulham women’s captain Ronnie Gibbons was ‘sexually assaulted twice by ex-owner Mohamed Fayed in Harrods’
By Michael Hamilton
A FORMER Fulham women’s captain yesterday revealed she was sexually assaulted twice by the football club’s ex-owner Mohamed Fayed.
Ronnie Gibbons said the tycoon groped her breast and made her sit on his knee after she was left alone with him in Harrods.
She also claimed he “forcefully” kissed and grabbed her as she tried to leave, leaving her feeling sick.
Her ordeal unfolded in the 2000-2001 season, after Fayed turned Fulham Ladies into Europe’s first pro female team.
Ronnie said a member of Fulham’s staff told her Fayed, then 71, wanted her to visit Harrods to meet his kids and talk about the club.
Ronnie explained: “I was summoned to his office and it was just him.
“He said, ‘Oh, I’m very sorry, there was a security breach and my children couldn’t come’.
"Then he pulled me in close and tried to kiss my mouth.
"He had his arms holding my arms, a kind of control stance.”
Ex-Republic of Ireland star Ronnie, 44, also told The Athletic: “I sort of moved my head so he could only kiss me on the cheek.
"I felt sweat instantly on my neck. I kind of froze. "He sat on a chair and pulled me on top of him to sit on his lap."
Read the full story here
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English (US) ·