Leon Black, former CEO of the US fund Apollo, which did several deals in Portugal, has been accused of rape by a woman. According to Reuters, the episode took place in 2002 and took place in the mansion of American businessman Jeffrey Epstein.
The victim, Cheri Pierson, assures that she was invited to massages by Jeffrey Epstein, and that Leon Black would pay her $300 (about 290 euros) for each one. As she needed money “urgently” for being a single mother, the woman accepted and went to the tycoon’s mansion.
After some touches and in the face of resistance from Cheri Pierson, Leon Black —who weighed around 130 kilos at the time— he will have sat on top of the masseuse to immobilize her, causing him “excruciating pain.” Later, the former CEO of Apollo allegedly raped her: “It was a brutal attack.”
The American investment fund manager left office in 2021, after a story linked him to the sex scandal of millionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in prison in 2019. Apollo became the owner of the insurance company Tranquilidade, which sold to Generalli in 2019 and was a candidate for several financial operations in Portugal, having applied to Novo Banco. The US fund acquired more than two hundred properties from the insurer Fidelidade, which it later sold.
In addition to being the founder and CEO of Apollo, Leon Black was president of the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
Cheri Pierson has filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan court and wants compensation for the sexual violence and emotional distress the situation has caused her.
For its part, Leon Black’s legal team rejects the accusations. “He has never sexually assaulted anyone anywhere,” attorney Susan Estrich told Reuters, adding that Cheri Pierson’s account is “categorically false and part of a scheme to extort money from Mr Black by threatening to destroy his reputation.” “We wish to defend you against these baseless accusations.”
After the alleged rape, Cheri Pierson alleges that Leon Black called her because he “wanted to talk” about what happened and “felt” bad about what he had done. During the 20 years since this episode, the alleged victim feared reprisals.
Source: Observadora
