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Woman tells police Steve Wynn raped her in '70s

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AP Las Vegas
A woman told police she had a child with casino mogul Steve Wynn after he raped her, while another reported she was forced to resign from a Las Vegas job after she refused to have sex with him.

The Associated Press yesterday obtained copies of police reports recently filed by the two women about allegations dating to the 1970s.

Police in Las Vegas revealed earlier this month that they had taken the statements after a news report in January revealed sexual misconduct allegations against the billionaire.

The allegations are the latest levelled against Wynn by women. He resigned as chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts on February 6, less than two weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported that a number of women said he harassed or assaulted them and that one case led to a USD 7.5 million settlement.
 

Wynn has vehemently denied the misconduct accusations the newspaper reported and he attributed them to a campaign led by his ex-wife, whose attorney has denied that she instigated the January 26 news story.

One police report obtained by the AP shows a woman told officers that Wynn raped her at least three times around 1973 and 1974 at her Chicago apartment. She reported she got pregnant and gave birth to a girl in a gas station restroom.

In one instance, the woman claimed that Wynn pinned her against the refrigerator and raped her. She said he then made a phone call, kissed her on the cheek and left. The report does not explain how Wynn is alleged to have entered the apartment or if they knew each other. The woman claimed she did not give him a key.

The second police report shows a woman told police she had consensual sex with Wynn "several times" while she worked as a dealer at the downtown Las Vegas casino-hotel Golden Nugget, but "felt coerced to perform the acts." She reported she was forced to resign when she turned him down.

"In the Summer of 1976, Wynn approached her in the back hall and wanted her to go with him," according to the report filed January 29. "(S)he told him, "no", she was done and had someone she was seeing. She was soon after accused of stealing USD 40.00 and forced to resign." The women's names are redacted on the reports, and police said they do not identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes.

The Las Vegas case will not be investigated because the statute of limitations in Nevada is 20 years.

Ralph Frammolino, spokesman for Wynn, yesterday declined comment on the latest allegations.

Wynn Resorts is facing scrutiny by gambling regulators in Nevada and Massachusetts, where the company is building a roughly USD 2.4 billion casino just outside Boston. Regulators in Macau, the Chinese enclave where the company operates two casinos, are also inquiring about the allegations.

In addition, groups of shareholders have filed lawsuits in state court in Las Vegas accusing Wynn and the board of directors of Wynn Resorts of breaching their fiduciary duties by ignoring what the lawsuits described as a longstanding pattern of sexual abuse and harassment by the company's founder.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Feb 28 2018 | 1:45 PM IST

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