A woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed has criticised the Metropolitan Police for failing to investigate human trafficking claims against him. Pelham Spong, 40, from South Carolina, spoke out after French police interviewed her as part of an inquiry into alleged human trafficking and pimping linked to Fayed, who died two years ago.
Spong told French officers on Monday that she was trafficked in Paris on Fayed's orders in 2008 before being sent to London, where he sexually assaulted her. She reported the alleged assault to the Met in 2017, but the case was closed due to insufficient evidence. Spong said: 'I think it’s an absolute shame that in order to get this called trafficking, I’ve had to go to France. The Met are not calling it sex trafficking.'
Spong's French lawyer, Anne-Claire Le Jeune, said investigators are examining whether Fayed's staff at the Ritz hotel in Paris knew about the alleged abuse and facilitated the transfer of women to London. Le Jeune questioned whether the Ritz 'facilitated the recruitment and transfer of young women to London'.
Bridgette Carr, a law professor at the University of Michigan, said the allegations against Fayed appear to constitute human trafficking, involving 'power and control' and 'systemic involvement' of multiple people and companies. The Met has said 146 people have reported crimes as part of its investigation into Fayed, and it is also probing associates who may have assisted him.
The Met voluntarily referred itself to the police watchdog in January after complaints from Spong and another woman about prior investigations. Despite 21 women accusing Fayed between 2005 and 2023, he was never charged. Spong's complaint alleged Met officers failed to challenge Fayed's claim that he was too ill to respond to her allegations.
