‘Rape room’ Cola billionaire Alkiviades David to pay record $900m to sex attack victim
A billionaire Coca-Cola heir, whose office was known as the “rape room”, has been ordered to pay $900 million (AUD$1.35b) in the largest sexual damages award in history.
Alkiviades ‘Alki’ David, 56, was accused of raping a former employee in a string of sexual assaults between February 2016 and April 2019.
The founder of avatar company Hologram USA allegedly had a pornographic image captioned ‘HER-ASS’ put on the door of his firm’s human resources department.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.And the British-Cypriot businessman’s intimidating sexual behaviour was so prolific that employees referred to one office at his California headquarters as the “rape room”.
David, the heir to an international Coca Cola bottling empire, was best known for his hologram company which has created 3D animated avatars of dead performers including Tupac and Michael Jackson.
He was accused of inflicting “‘severe sexual harassment and assault, including rape” on the former model, referred to in court as Jane Doe.
A lawsuit in Los Angeles claimed that soon after joining, she was warned about the “alarmingly hostile” workplace.
Weeks later Ms Doe rebuffed his attempt to kiss her during a work trip to his private island in Greece, and was laid off.
But in 2018 he was back in touch to offer her a job as brand ambassador for his cannabis manufacturing company, Swiss-X.
The suit claimed that he later took her back to a hotel room where he persuaded her to sample the product and forced her to touch him intimately.
The following April she was called to a business meeting in a small room where he raped her in front of one of his Doberman pinschers.
Her lawyer Gary Dordick said: “This monumental verdict sets a precedent in the fight against workplace sexual assault.”
He added that the case was “despicable”.
The mogul has already lost AUD$120 million in a series of judgements for sexual assaults dating back to 2014.
He settled two cases out of court in 2016 but was ordered to pay AUD$7.6 million to staffer Lauren Reeves who said he put his hands on her throat.
That case also referred to a “rape room”.
In April 2019 he was ordered to pay damages of AUD$11.4 million to a woman who said she was fired after she refused to have sex.
That December another jury awarded AUD$87.4 million to production assistant Mahim Khan for sexual assault.
She said he had thrust his pelvis into her face and frequently groped her.
David, who was married to model Jennifer Stano from 2011 to 2016, has denied all claims of sexual misconduct, often erupting in profanity-laced outbursts in court and mocking his accusers.
His wealth has been put at AUD$7 billion much of it family money.
