Victims, including three Canadians, claim former Harrods boss Al Fayed was a 'monster' who abused young women, lawyers say

Lawyers in Britain representing dozens of alleged victims -- including three Canadians -- of Mohamed Al Fayed, the former boss of Harrods, said Friday their clients assert that he was a "monster" who raped and sexually abused young women.

Lawyers in Britain representing dozens of alleged victims -- including three Canadians -- of Mohamed Al Fayed, the former boss of Harrods, said Friday their clients assert that he was a "monster" who raped and sexually abused young women.

Lawyer Bruce Drummond said three of Al Fayed's alleged victims were from Canada, including one who was "seriously, seriously assaulted when she was 16."

The abuse went on through much of Al Fayed's 25-year tenure -- from 1985 on -- at the helm of the world-renowned London department store, the lawyers said. They spoke at a televised news conference in London in the wake of the BBC documentary "Al-Fayed: Predator At Harrods."

The four-member legal team told reporters they have been retained by 37 of Al Fayed's accusers and were in the process of adding more clients, including potentially from other organizations that Al Fayed was involved with.

In the documentary, which was broadcast on Thursday, Al Fayed was accused of raping at least five women at his properties in London and Paris and of committing scores of other acts of assault and physical violence, both in and outside of Harrods.

"We will say it plainly: Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster," said lead lawyer Dean Armstrong. "But he was a monster enabled by a system, a system that pervaded Harrods."

Armstrong said the case combined "some of the most horrific elements" of cases such as those involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein -- well-known and powerful men who were able to avoid sexual abuse allegations for years before their victims finally came forward.