New Delhi: The former CEO of a San Francisco-based tech company is facing allegations of forcing an ex-staffer into sexual slavery and abusing her for years.
Christian Lanng, co-founder and former CEO of Tradeshift, allegedly forced his former assistant to sign a "slavery contract" just months after hiring her, according to a report by the New York Post.
The lawsuit in the case was filed last Thursday.
In the lawsuit, the woman claimed that Lanng then raped and abused her for years, subjecting her to years of “unwanted sexual horror.”
According to the New York Post report, Lanng tortured her by inflicting pain on her, urinating on her, and penetrating her using foreign objects. The torture involved “inflicting physical pain on her by various means, urinating on her and routinely penetrating her person with foreign objects,” as per the lawsuit.
The allegations only surfaced after the executive was fired as CEO earlier this year for “gross misconduct on multiple grounds” after management learned about “serious allegations of sexual assault and harassment” against him, the report said.
The accuser, who identified as 'Jane Doe' (unidentified) in court documents, also claimed she was fired in 2020 when she complained to human resources about the nine-page “slave contract,” which she insisted she was forced into signing.
What Did The Contract Say
Doe had agreed to “always be sexually available for her master when he needs sex and to never refuse him sex even when not wearing the [day] collar," according to a supposed copy of the contract filed with the lawsuit.
“Whenever she sees her master in private for the first time, she is to kneel and ask if there is anything she can do for him,” the purported contract added, according to The New York Post.
The document also allegedly allowed Lanng to deliver “any punishment the master decides to inflict, whether earned or not” — although it did note that it was the “master’s responsibility” to avoid killing the woman or causing permanent injury, according to the report.
The contract also allegedly stated that the “slave” must always take her punishments “without being angry, sullen or frustrated with her master” and she must “thank him after.”
The contract also allegedly said that the assistant must always take her punishments without "being angry, sullen or frustrated," with her master” and she must “thank him after.”
The assistant was also contractually required to dress in “a proper, feminine way” and keep her weight between 130 and 155 pounds while agreeing to send Lanng weekly spreadsheets of her progress, the suit alleges, according to The New York Post.
“The slave agrees to submit completely to the master in all ways. There are no boundaries of place, time, or situation in which the slave may willfully refuse to obey the directive of the master without risking punishment,” the contract read, according to the lawsuit.
“The slave also agrees that, once entered into the Slavery Contract, their body belongs to their master to be used as seen fit within the guidelines defined herein. All of the slave’s possessions likewise belong to the master, including all assets, finances, online accounts and material goods, to do with as they see fit.”
According to the lawsuit, the former assistant had agreed to the disturbing stipulations because she “loved her job, was accomplishing important work in her new role and did not want to lose the opportunity to work a Tradeshift,” The New York Post report said.
Lanng Denies Allegations
Lanng, however, vehemently denied the allegations. In a statement to the Post, Lanng said that the relationship between him and his assistant was consensual.
“The claims in this lawsuit are defamatory and not reflective of my past relationship with the plaintiff. The shocking and vile claims in the lawsuit are categorically false, and I reject allegations that I subjected someone to any form of abuse during my tenure as CEO or at any other time of my life,” he said, according to a statement obtained by the Post.
“The only details of the salacious complaint against me that are truthful are that the plaintiff and I were in a sexual relationship and that she was once employed at Tradeshift. This relationship, which predated her employment at Tradeshift, ended eight months after she joined the company.
“In 2014, I made the grave error of judgment to hire someone I was dating and with whom I was engaged in a consensual sexual relationship. While this did not constitute a violation of Tradeshift’s human resources policies, it was irresponsible to employ someone with whom I was romantically involved. I regret the decision. It was a foolish mistake that I will not repeat,” he added.