West Ham co-owner David Sullivan accused of abusing and preying on teenage girls for sex in BBC Panorama documentary

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan is accused of preying on a string of women, some of whom were teenagers, during his time as newspaper chief.

Mr Sullivan resigned from his position at the club at the weekend after learning of the investigation, which spanned decades and gathered allegations dating back to the 1980s.

Seven women detailed experiences they claimed they had with Sullivan as young models looking for work in Sunday Sport and Daily Sport newspapers.

They accuse Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behavior, including pressuring them for sex or oral sex during business meetings, claiming it would help their careers. Sullivan denies the allegations.

The BBC also reported that Sullivan, 77, separately admitted to paying for sex with a girl he estimated to be 16 or 17 in the 1990s.

He was in his 40s at the time, and in 2003 it became illegal to pay for sex with a girl aged 16 or 17.

Sullivan, one of the country’s richest men who made his fortune from porn, newspapers and football, left West Ham at the weekend protesting his innocence after BBC Panorama and The Times confirmed they would publish the findings of a joint investigation.

He said he ‘categorically’ denied all the allegations and vowed to sue any media outlet that repeated them. Sullivan currently retains a 38.8 percent stake in West Ham.

Sullivan, seen left next to former co-chairman David Gold, said he ‘categorically’ denied the allegations

Sacha Wall allegedly the only victim who wanted to remain named

Sacha Wall is the only alleged victim of Sullivan’s predatory behavior who asked to remain named.

She alleges that Sullivan tried to pressure the 24-year-old into having sexual intercourse with her, claiming it would further her career as an aspiring model.

Ms Wall said she was invited to Sullivan’s mansion in Essex in 1998 for what she believed would be a business meeting.

He remembered being surprised to see her in a very informal outfit of flip-flops, red shorts and a T-shirt.

Ms Wall claims Sullivan rummaged through her modeling portfolio by repeating the words “very nice, very nice” to her discomfort.

She said he then told her to follow him upstairs and strip down to her underwear, which she did because she was also interested in modeling topless.

He then allegedly told her to come and sit next to him, at which point she walked away and put her bra back on.

She claimed he looked ‘very surprised’ when she told him she wouldn’t sleep with him and replied: ‘What, not even a no-nonsense job?’

Ms Wall said she was ‘really scared’ to find the door locked when she tried to leave, but Sullivan opened the door when she wanted to go out.

He later appeared in Sport newspaper but said he was often given the worst jobs.

Sullivan ran the Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers in the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, and women claimed they were harassed while seeking modeling work for his titles.

Sullivan resigned from his role at West Ham at the weekend after learning the investigation would be published

A woman whose name was changed to Anna by the inquiry’s publishers appeared in Sport a month after her 17th birthday. She participated in the Miss Sport contest, which involved sending photos to the newspaper.

She was later invited to an event at a nightclub in Essex, which she attended with her mother as a chaperone.

He claims he was invited into a private conversation with Sullivan at the venue, where the entertainers included women dancing on tables surrounded by large groups of “touchy-feely” men.

He allegedly asked the 17-year-old to give him a ‘s*** job’ and promised to make her a ‘star’, but she refused.

Another victim, whose name has been changed to Florence, claimed Sullivan ‘robbed her of her innocence’ when she was pressured to sleep with him in 1999.

Sources working in the industry at the time reportedly said Sullivan’s nickname was ‘S***Job or No Job’ due to her reputation for expecting sexual favors in exchange for access to the vast opportunities she could offer aspiring models.

But Florence, who was 20 at the time and trying to break into the industry, said she was unaware of this, so she went home to Essex, dressed smartly, with her boyfriend for support.

Sullivan allegedly took her upstairs and attempted to have sex; Florence tried to resist, saying that she was on her period and her partner was waiting for her at home.

But he claims Sullivan persisted anyway.

She said the image of Sullivan holding his pinky up in the air and saying “It’s okay, I’ll just put a little in” before penetrating her will forever be ‘haunted’.

Florence said she was almost certain she told him she didn’t want to have sex, but she couldn’t say how loudly.

She claims he promised her to be one of his ‘ordinary girls’ if she had sex with him in sports papers and was later offered a job.

Florence said: ‘He took away my innocence. What he did sent me into a spiral that would last for many, many, many years.’

He said he believed Sullivan’s alleged predatory behavior had gone unchallenged for so long because he was ‘untouchable’, adding: ‘It may not show up on paper, but my God, how powerful is this man.’

Sullivan, who once described herself as ‘a collector of women the way some people collect stamps’, was a towering figure for anyone hoping to break the glamor modeling industry in the 1990s.

In the 1970s he began selling photographs of topless women by mail order from a warehouse in east London.

This soon turned into the sale of pornographic magazines, and in 1973 Sullivan pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to publish and publish obscene material.

But Sullivan was undeterred and his porn empire grew rapidly; until by the end of the decade it was selling more than a million porn magazines every month.

In 1986 he launched Sunday Sport, which featured topless models among sensational tabloid stories, and later Daily Sport, which was an enormous success.

An infamous feature of their newspaper was ‘Countdown to 16’, which recorded the number of days until a schoolgirl’s 16th birthday and depicted her topless when that day arrived.

In his resignation statement, Sullivan said: ‘I have recently become aware that decades-old, factually false and completely false allegations about my personal life will be published.

‘The false allegations against me have been sensationalized by the media. After a lifetime of building a business in the adult industry where I have met thousands of women, it is unfortunately inevitable that a small number of allegations of inappropriate behavior will be made against me.

‘I categorically deny these allegations.

‘I am a special man and those who know the real David Sullivan personally and professionally, not the caricature invented by the tabloids, know exactly who I am and what I represent. I’m definitely not the person the media decided to portray me as.

‘I have been given no appropriate explanation as to how these individuals or their claims were independently verified or assessed for credibility before publication. I believe the entire process is fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in impartiality.

‘I will be suing the BBC and other media outlets that repeat defamatory claims for libel.’

In response, the BBC said: ‘BBC Panorama and The Times newspaper are working together on a joint investigation into the conduct of David Sullivan, who has announced his resignation as joint chairman and director of West Ham United FC. For decades he made millions from pornography, newspapers and football. The investigation is scheduled to be published and published on Monday.’

It is thought a power struggle could be brewing in the boardroom as Czech co-chairman Daniel Kretinsky understands that Sullivan has reservations about the controversial plan for his two sons, Jack and David, to succeed him.

Kretinsky, who actually owns a 27 percent stake, may be seeking to increase his stake and take control of the club.

This being the case, Sullivan retains a 38.8 percent stake in the club. In April, right-hand woman Karren Brady left the club.

Throughout a season of turmoil, Hammers fans have frequently protested against Sullivan and Brady amid toxic scenes. As well as significant redundancies following relegation, a massive sale of players is also expected.

A separate statement from West Ham said Sullivan had “decided to resign to avoid disruption to the club while we deal with the matter privately”.

They added that interim CEO Karim Virani ‘will continue to be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the club’.