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File image of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani from September 2022. Alamy Stock Photo
Lawsuit

Woman suing former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani for €9.2m claims he coerced her into sex

Noelle Dunphy says she worked for the former mayor of New York as a consultant for two years.

A WOMAN WHO says she worked as a freelance employee for former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani during his stint as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer alleges in court papers that Giuliani coerced her into sex and owes her nearly $2.0 million (€1.84 million) in unpaid wages.

Noelle Dunphy said in the lawsuit that she was Giuliani’s business development director and public relations consultant from 2019 to 2021.

She initially made her allegations public in January, but she detailed her claims further in a 70-page legal complaint filed on Monday in New York.

Giuliani “vehemently” denied the allegations through a spokesperson. His lawyer had also previously denied that Dunphy ever worked for Giuliani.

“Mayor Giuliani’s lifetime of public service speaks for itself, and he will pursue all available remedies and counterclaims,” said Giuliani’s communications adviser, Ted Goodman.

The new court filing portrays Giuliani, 78, as a hard-drinking, Viagra-popping womaniser who made satisfying his sexual demands “an absolute requirement of her employment”.

She is seeking at least $10 million (€9.2 million).

Dunphy claimed in the lawsuit to have made numerous audio recordings of Giuliani, including some in which she says he can be heard making sexual comments, demanding sex and making sexist, racist, and antisemitic remarks.

Dunphy’s legal team declined a request from the Associated Press to share those recordings, saying they were part of the litigation.

Included in the complaint are screenshots of suggestive text messages purportedly from Giuliani.

The lawsuit claims Giuliani hired Dunphy in January 2019 and promised to pay her $1 million (€920,000) per year for her consulting work.

But he told her that he had to defer paying her until he settled his divorce from his third wife, Judith, according to the lawsuit.

Almost immediately, according to the complaint, Giuliani started making sexual advances, including kissing her in the back of an SUV on her first day and demanding that she take care of him sexually, sometimes while he was on the phone with high-profile friends and clients.

Often, Dunphy alleges, Giuliani would demand she work in a bikini or in American flag-themed shorts he bought for her, and he urged her to strip naked for him during video meetings.

Giuliani reached a divorce settlement in December 2019, but Dunphy said all she got from him were a few cash payments totalling $12,000 (€11,000) to cover living expenses.

Dunphy also contended that Giuliani had reneged on a promise to represent her, for free, in a protracted legal fight involving claims of domestic violence.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they grant permission, as Dunphy has done.

Author
Press Association