Former senior Nine manager accused of sexually assaulting junior colleague

A senior manager at Nine Entertainment is reportedly under investigation after a junior female colleague came forward alleging he raped her.

The female staff member reported she was sexually assaulted by the man at end-of-year celebrations near Nine’s former Sydney headquarters in 2019.

It has been reported the woman left the staff party with her male colleague before the pair entered her home before the man allegedly raped her. Neither of the pair worked in the news or current affairs division of the company.

According to The Australian, the woman has provided law firm Ashurst with details about the alleged incident, and claims she was bullied, which led to her leaving the company in 2022.

Details of the incident were reportedly first provided to consultancy firm Intersection, which released a damning report into the workplace culture at the network this week.

The report featured testimony from current and former staff, who spoke of their despair, fear and horror about workplace misconduct.

It uncovered a “desolate and dark” workplace where employees were sexually harassed and objectified.

Another female manager was reportedly accompanying the pair at the party while the younger woman was provided alcohol by the male manager.

She has since signed a deed of release and been given a five-figure payout. It is reported she did not report the alleged assault to police or to Nine before she left.

There are also claims the woman was encouraged to leave the company by another male colleague — also a senior manager.

According to Intersection’s report, some 62 per cent of broadcast employees reported experiencing or witnessing abuse of power, 57 per cent experienced bullying, discrimination or harassment, and 30 per cent experienced sexual harassment.

Employees feared being ostracised, victimised or demoted if they took their complaints to their managers or Nine’s HR department, the report detailed.

The report considered submissions from people across the network, not just the news division.

Acting chief executive Matt Stanton told Nine’s 5000 staff of the report’s findings in a nationwide briefing on Thursday, promising to make the company’s offices safer.

Nine has vowed to implement all 22 of the report’s recommendations, including overhauling its HR department, reviewing its code of conduct and appointing external parties to investigate workplace complaints.