Davidar says will fight “trumped up” allegations

TORONTO - Former Penguin Canada CEO David Davidar who has been accused of sexual harassment by a former colleague has said that he will not be cowed down by the “trumped up” allegations against him.

He said, “I really can’t respond at the moment. Everything will be dealt with in my statement of defence.”

Meanwhile the Globe and Mail has reported that Samanta Francis, another alleged victim of Davidar’s sexual advances, has come out in support of Lisa Rundle, the accuser in the case.

“Ms. Francis has had the opportunity to review [Ms. Rundle's] Statement of Claim, in particular the references to incidents which occurred during her employment with Penguin Group (Canada). She confirms her strong support of Ms. Rundle,” wrote Samantha’s lawyer.

Rundle has sued Davidar for sexual harassment when she worked with Penguin for three years. She is also suing Penguin for allegedly terminating her employment after she filed her complaints.

Evidently, her Statement of Claims alleges that Davidar told Rundle that Francis had filed a sexual harassment complaint with Penguin in 2008.

Further it states that Davidar had claimed that Francis had withdrawn the charges after a conversation between them. Both the harassment cases claim Davidar sent gifts to victims. Moreover, it also asserts that the company’s HR department told both that Davidar felt they had misinterpreted his friendliness.

A company statement said Davidar was asked to leave. Penguin representatives could not be reached for comment. (ANI)