Daily Mail
December 16, 2013
A former diplomat exposed himself to a colleague during a two-year ‘onslaught’ of sexual harassment, a tribunal heard.
Chukwuma Igbokwe, 46, grabbed Vanessa Turley from behind and thrust himself towards her before exposing himself and asking her to perform a sex act, it was claimed.
The former Consul to the UK of the Republic of Niger is accused of bullying and harassing his junior colleague in his role as director of St Luke’s Healthcare group.
Mrs Turley, 42, was allegedly subjected to an ‘onslaught of sexual innuendo’ and verbal abuse when she worked with Igbokwe at a private hospital in Ebbw Vale, south Wales, between March 2008 and July 2010.
She told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service how she quit her job and took legal action to stop Igbokwe when she realised she may not be his only victim.
‘It was just never ending with him,’ she said giving evidence.
‘I thought he’s got to stop this. People came to me and said it was happening to them.
‘I thought “when is this guy going to stop”.
‘The only person who had enough evidence to go forward was myself.’
Referred to as ‘Mrs A’ during the current proceedings, she told the panel she felt the police did not take her seriously when she complained, but was vindicated when she won an employment tribunal against her former bosses last year.
She said: ‘It was never about the money. It was about proving to people what he was like as a person and what he put me through.’
She added: ‘I was trying to stop him doing it to other females because in my eyes he had no respect at all no matter what your position in the company. It was a conquest.’