George Foreman has been sued by two women for allegedly being raped by the boxing legend in the 70s when they were teenagers.
The women said that Foreman began grooming them as young toddlers while working with their fathers, according to two complaints they filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Years after they first met him, they claimed they were abused in California. Each of them demanded more than $25 million.
Foreman denied the allegations. “Over the past six months, two women have been trying to extort millions of dollars each from me and my family,” he said in a statement. “They are falsely claiming that I sexually abused them over 45 years ago in the 1970s. I adamantly and categorically deny these allegations. The pride I take in my reputation means as much to me as my sports accomplishments, and I will not be intimidated by baseless threats and lies. I am, and always will be, guided by my faith and trust in God. I will work with my lawyers to fully and truthfully expose my accusers’ schemes and defend myself in court. I don’t pick fights, but I don’t run away from them either.”
The case was filed in accordance with an update to California's statute of limitations for specific sex offences passed in 2020, extending the window of opportunity for victims of childhood sexual assault to file claims. The new statute permits plaintiffs to file a claim within five years after learning they were injured as a result of the assault. Judy Huth famously sued Bill Cosby on the grounds that she was 15 years old in 1974 when the alleged rape took place at the Playboy Mansion. A Los Angeles jury determined that the comedian assaulted her in June.
The women who are suing Foreman assert that they have experienced "physical and mental agony and suffering," which they only recently became aware of. They filed their claims under aliases. Although Foreman is named as a Doe defendant, it is known that he was a former heavyweight boxer who turned pro in 1969 and defeated Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight title in 1973.
Denise S., a resident of Los Angeles County, claimed that Foreman trained her over several years after she first met him when she was 8 years old.
“When Plaintiff was 13 years old, Doe called Plaintiff at her home in Hayward, California and asked Plaintiff if she knew how to masturbate,” states the complaint. “During the call, Doe gave plaintiff instructions on how to masturbate herself.”
According to the suit, Foreman raped her several times in 1976. On one particular occasion, he allegedly assaulted her while staying at a San Francisco hotel.
Gwen H. of Nevada, who filed a second case, claimed that Foreman invited her to his residence when she was 15 years old after they had first met in Philadelphia. The boxer's longstanding advisor, her father, was allegedly threatened with termination, according to her.
“DOE threatened that if she didn’t comply, her dad would lose his job,” the complaint states. “DOE then instructed Plaintiff to remove her clothes. Feeling the duress and coercion of this threat, Plaintiff complied with DOE’s commands.”
As per the suit, Foreman raped her several times until she was 16 years old.
Both women said that they informed an anonymous friend and business partner of Foreman about the abuse they suffered at the hands of the boxer. According to the lawsuit, they were informed that Foreman had molested at least one other victim while she was still a minor. When questioned, Foreman allegedly refused to refute the charge.
The complaints make claims of deliberate infliction of emotional distress and sexual battery. Shawn Holley and Suann MacIsaac of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley are Foreman's representatives.
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