David Sullivan Resigns as 7 Women Accuse Him of Sexual Exploitation
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 8
David Sullivan Resigns as 7 Women Accuse Him of Sexual Exploitation
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 8
Summary
Seven women told a BBC Panorama-Times investigation that David Sullivan used his power over young models to pressure them into sex or sexual acts, with allegations spanning from the 1980s to 1999.
Sullivan, 77, quit as West Ham joint chair on Saturday after being told the investigation would be published, saying he needed to fight what he called false and unfair decades-old allegations.
The report says several accounts were backed by diary entries, records and witness interviews, and that eight women have disclosed concerns about Sullivan to the Met or Essex Police; he denies all allegations and has never been charged.
Separately, Sullivan admitted paying for sex in the 1990s with a girl he believed was 16 or 17, conduct that was not illegal at the time but adds to scrutiny of his past behavior.
The allegations now raise questions for football authorities and England's new regulator over owner integrity, with West Ham and the FA saying safeguarding matters cannot be discussed in detail.