Photo: FilmMagic
Michael Goguen (left), a 20-year partner at Sequoia Capital, parted ways with the company last week after his alleged victim filed a lawsuit in California on Tuesday. He is pictured with Donald Trump's ex Marla Maples (center right) and musician Won-G (right)
Michael Goguen left Sequioa Capital last week after 20 years with the firm
He resigned after a woman claimed he kept her as a sex slave for years
Amber Baptiste said he met her when she was 15 in a strip club in 2001
He 'promised to help free her from the traffickers that brought her to US in exchange for lurid sexual acts that lasted 13 years', her lawsuit claims
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In 2012 he allegedly left her bleeding in a hotel after suspected violent sex
She claims he also infected her with HPV, forced her to call him 'king'
Goguen denies the claims, claims they had a romantic relationship
One of Silicon Valley's top venture capitalists has been accused of violently raping, emotionally tormenting, and drugging a 'human trafficking victim' who he kept as a sex slave for more than 13 years.
Michael Goguen, a 20-year partner at Sequoia Capital, parted ways with the company which backed Apple, Google, Youtube, PayPal, and DropBox after his alleged victim filed a lawsuit in California last Tuesday.
Amber Baptiste claims she met Goguen in a strip club in Texas months after she was trafficked to America from Canada at the age of 15 in 2001.
According to legal papers, Goguen - who was married with two children - offered to save her from her traffickers if she agreed to have sex with him.
But over the next 13 years, she claims, he habitually raped her, forced her to call him 'king' or 'emperor', and infected her with
In a bid to dispel Baptiste's victim image, Goguen has filed a counter-claim that includes four risqué photographs of Baptiste in lingerie that she allegedly sent to him in 2013 (pictured, above)
In 2012, she was forced to have emergency surgery after Goguen sodomized her so violently that he ripped through her anal canal, causing a seven-inch tear, then 'left her bleeding and alone on the floor of a hotel room in a foreign country... nearly hemorrhaging to death', the lawsuit claims.
The detail is one of many lurid allegations of torment, violence and degradation in the 26-page lawsuit filed to California's San Mateo County Superior Court.
According to legal papers, Goguen (pictured)- who was married with two children - offered to save his alleged victim from her traffickers if she agreed to have sex with him
According to Baptiste, Goguen signed a contract to give her $40 million in exchange for her silence about the 2012 incident - but he allegedly only paid $10 million and refused to pay the rest.
Now, she is suing Goguen for breach of contract - and laying bare all her allegations against him.
Goguen, a Stanford and Cornell graduate, has denied the claims. He has counter-sued, citing claims of extortion and invasion of privacy, insisting the pair enjoyed a loving relationship.
Sequoia - an early investor in Apple, Google, YouTube, PayPal and Dropbox - has acknowledged the existence of the lawsuit, saying: 'We understand that these allegations of serious improprieties are unproven and unrelated to Sequoia. We decided that Mike’s departure was the appropriate course of action.'
Goguen's work, including sitting on the board of more than a dozen companies, has been transferred to another partner at Sequoia.
According to the lawsuit, Goguen repeatedly asked Baptiste out for dinner when he met her in 2001, pleading to let him help her escape her traffickers.
After months of persistent requests, Baptiste allegedly agreed.
That night, she claims, he 'lured [her] to his hotel room under the pretenses that he needed to finish a few calls before dinner. Ms Baptiste arrived at his room to find Mr Goguen nude and touching himself.
'He immediately cornered her and insisted that she have sex with him.
'Ms Baptiste told him she was a virgin and would not have sex with him.
Goguen was previously married to model and Naked Princess boutique owner Jordana Woodland. She is pictured in May, 2015
'He continued pressuring her, moving her hand to touch his penis and grinding against her leg.
'Mr Goguen finally let her leave after she broke down in tears.'
Goguen divorced his wife, the mother of his two children, in 2001 then remarried a few months later - while allegedly pursuing Baptiste. Later that year she agreed to his 'offer', her lawyers claim.
He divorced his second wife in 2006 and promised to devote himself to Baptiste, the suit claims.
No matter how many times she cried or begged him to stop, he would demean or verbally abuse her until he was finished
Amber Baptiste's lawsuit claims
However, he remarried just months later and had another three children - but allegedly kept them a secret from Baptiste. He later divorced his third wife.
One of the women he married was model and owner of the Naked Princess boutique, Jordana Woodland.
Baptiste claims Goguen said she was his only sexual partner. However, when she discovered she had contracted HPV, she claims, she confronted him and he admitted he had lied.
Meanwhile, she claims, the abuses persisted.
'Mr Goguen continued to dangle the prospect of helping Ms Baptiste out of the grip of the human traffickers in exchange for increasingly debasing acts,' the suit claims.
These 'acts' included grovelling for Goguen to masturbate on her and ejaculate in her mouth 'causing her to choke or vomit', according to Baptiste's legal documents.
Almost every time, the suit claims, he would sodomize her for hours on end, feeding her alcohol and drugs to endure it.
'No matter how many times she cried or begged him to stop, he would demean or verbally abuse her until he was finished, only to seek forgiveness week later and repeat the cycle,' the papers allege.
Goguen has since filed a counter-suit, claiming he has 'an enormous amount of evidence, including messages that span years and show that she pursued me romantically and professed her love, respect and appreciation for my kind and compassionate treatment of her.'
Sequoia - an early investor in Apple, Google, YouTube, PayPal and Dropbox - has acknowledged the existence of the lawsuit
'The reality is that Ms Baptiste was an exotic dancer, first looking for a payday, and later revenge,' Goguen's suit claims.
'Mr Goguen was generous with Ms Baptiste and wanted to help her to have a better life. Over the years, he provided her with hundreds of thousands of dollars. This enabled her to quit her job as a "dancer" and pursue her interests without needing to worry about finances, or even having to work.'
He describes Baptiste as a Canada native who entered into a sham marriage in 2002 to get US citizenship and now lives in Los Angeles.
And in a bid to dispel her victim image, Goguen includes four risqué photographs of Baptiste in lingerie that she allegedly sent to him in 2013.
'In addition to her written seductions, Ms. Baptiste repeatedly sent Mr.Goguen sexually provocative and pornographic photographs of herself, unclothed or scantily clothed, in furtherance of her efforts to convince him to see her more often,' the suit claims.
Above the pictures, Goguen's lawyers describe them as 'a few of the milder photographs', explaining they were sent 'after she claims to have been raped, abandoned and hemorrhaging foreign country following hours of forced sodomy, and intentionally infected with a STD.'
Below, the lawyers write: 'It defies logic and common sense that an alleged victim of “rape,” “abuse,” and “sexual slavery,” would send such provocative photos to the alleged perpetrator.'
Addressing Baptiste's claim that he left her to die after sodomizing her in a hotel in 2012, he claims they enjoyed a night of consensual sex, and her injury was minor.
'Far from being "forcibly sodomized" and "left bleeding alone on the floor of a hotel room... nearly hemorrhaging to death," the supposed [injury] was so minor that Mr. Goguen was unaware of it until Ms. Baptiste emailed him after the fact gushing about how wonderful the night was and noting that she was scheduled to have a "small surgery" that was "not a big deal",' he claims.
He said she emailed him the next day saying:
'I would never erase that night for anything. It was beautiful each and every moment.
'I would never erase that night for anything. It was beautiful each and every moment.
'The last night together was really incredible for me. I could feel so many things moving between us that I have not felt before. Hopefully I will feel you again soon.'
Hitting back at her claim that he infected her with HPV, Goguen claims 'it is virtually impossible to determine the source of the virus.'
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