A Silicon Valley venture capitalist has been sued for $40 million by a woman who claims he used her as a virtual sex slave for 13 years.
Michael Goguen, who had worked for a firm that funded Google and Paypal, “sexually and physically” abused Amber Laurel Baptiste over more than 13 years after picking her up at a Texas strip club, her lawsuit alleges.
Baptiste, who claims she was brought to the United States from Canada by human traffickers at 15, said she endured “countless hours of forced sodomy” from the tech titan.
The former stripper said Goguen made her endure demeaning sexual acts, sodomized her for “six hours at a time,” and forced her to call him “king” and “emperor.”
Filed in San Mateo County, Calif., on March 8, her suit details a life of torture and servitude as she was jetting around the globe to serve as the millionaire’s plaything.
She claims Goguen had promised to save her from human trafficking but instead became an even worse predator himself.
Goguen, who was forced to step down from his position at Sequoia Capital, did not deny that the two had a sexual relationship but insisted the sex was consensual.
He filed a countersuit against Baptiste claiming she is an “exotic dancer . . . looking for a payday.”
The venture capitalist said Baptiste was obsessed with him and sought to extort him because she was jealous of his wife.
In his countersuit, Goguen provides pages of texts and e-mails in which she apparently refers to him as “Prince Charming,” “My Beautiful Love” and “the sweetest man in the world.”
The suit includes Bapiste’s descriptions of the “amazing sex” the two had together and photos that she allegedly sent him in which she is seen playfully posing in her underwear.
Baptiste is demanding $40 million, saying the two agreed on the amount to compensate her for the horrors she had suffered.
Goguen, who has already paid her $10 million, said she is “a woman scorned” and a victim “of her own delusions.”
He claims that when he tried to end their relationship, Baptiste became bent on vengeance, threatening to ruin his life and reputation.
He said that he had no choice but to pay her the $10 million, but that she refused to relent and demanded more money.
Sequoia Capital released a statement that called Goguen’s departure from the firm the “appropriate course of action.”
A philanthropist, Goguen was lauded for donating $2 million to fight online child pornography and sex trafficking where he lives in Montana.
