Amazon Faces Unprecedented Lawsuit Over Alleged Executive Rape Incident
An Amazon marketing manager filed an unprecedented lawsuit alleging she was raped by a senior executive during a New York business trip, accusing the tech giant of negligence and silencing victims.
An employee at e-commerce giant Amazon has filed a dramatic and unprecedented lawsuit against the company, alleging she was raped by a senior executive during a business trip to New York. According to the complaint, Amazon management not only failed to conduct a proper and comprehensive investigation into the severe incident, but also ordered the employee to remain silent about the matter and left her in a hostile work environment.
The plaintiff, Laura Danboom, serving as a marketing and operations manager in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud division at the company's Seattle headquarters, accuses Amazon of violating Washington State's "Silencing Victims Protection Act." This law is designed to provide legal protection to victims reporting workplace sexual assaults against employer retaliation.
The lawsuit reveals that the incident occurred on October 27, 2023. Danboom arrived in New York for work along with a group of colleagues, including Michelangelo Simonetta, a leading advertising manager in her division stationed at Amazon's offices in Madrid. That evening, the group attended an "open bar" event organized and funded by Amazon, subsequently continuing to a karaoke bar gathering, also fully funded by the company.
In the early stages of the evening, the two flirted and laughed, and at the end of the night, Simonetta kissed Danboom and convinced her to allow him to accompany her to her hotel room. However, at this point, according to the complaint, things took a harsh turn. In the hotel room in the early morning hours, Simonetta raped Danboom while completely ignoring her resistance. The lawsuit claims that even before the rape began, Danboom told him "no," and during the act, when she asked him, "Do you understand that this is...", Simonetta answered and completed her sentence: "Rape? Yes" — and continued his actions.
The next morning, Danboom reported the rape to the New York Police Department, handed officers a condom left in the room, and underwent a rape kit examination. During a phone call with Simonetta, recorded by a police detective to elicit a confession, Simonetta claimed he was "200% sure" no sexual relations had taken place at all. However, during his later police interrogation, he contradicted himself and claimed he was too drunk to remember what happened.
According to Danboom's attorney, the New York Police Department decided not to refer the case to the local prosecutor's office, claiming it had exhausted investigative avenues. Conversely, the lawsuit accuses the police of severe negligence, claiming they failed to interview key witnesses to whom Danboom reported the rape immediately after its occurrence, including another Amazon employee.
Two days after the incident, Danboom reported the assault to Amazon's human resources department, while also sharing the harrowing experience with several friends and her personal therapist. Amazon opened an investigation and even placed Simonetta on leave for several months, but ultimately concluded he did not violate company policy. The company argued that Danboom's version was "unsubstantiated due to a lack of evidence" and characterized the case as a "he said, she said" situation. Amazon added that it would reopen the case only if criminal charges were filed against Simonetta.
Danboom contends, on the other hand, that Amazon negligently closed the investigation without speaking to witnesses who could have corroborated her version and without collecting accessible evidence. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that during the investigation, company investigators asked Danboom offensive and inappropriate questions that re-traumatized her, questioning her conduct and suggesting she did not do enough to prevent the assault, including wondering whether she yelled "no." The lawsuit noted that this constituted a shameful and outrageous interrogation by a leading employer in 2024.
The Aftermath and Legal Battle
Moreover, the lawsuit reveals that Amazon prohibited Danboom from discussing the rape case in the workplace under the argument that it was "strictly confidential" information. Danboom noted that this directive prevented her from warning other women in the company who might come into contact with him at business events. Worse yet, Danboom was informed that her position in the company would not change, and that she would be required to continue working directly with Simonetta via phone, email, and remote meetings.
"We take every allegation of this nature very seriously, and we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct or violence of any kind in the workplace," Amazon said in an official statement published in the New York Post. "We thoroughly investigate every report we receive and take appropriate action, up to and including termination, against anyone found to have violated our policy. We have a robust policy and skilled investigators working to ensure every concern is heard and addressed with appropriate care. We currently have no further information to share regarding the details of this pending legal proceeding, and we continue to follow our rigorous processes and hold all employees to the same high standards."
Following the traumatic event, Danboom was forced to take two medical leaves. After submitting ten different applications for internal roles at Amazon, she was transferred in 2024 to another position that does not require interaction with Simonetta. Danboom described the transfer as an "escape," noting it was merely a lateral move that forced her to give up a planned career advancement path. Now, as part of the lawsuit, she is seeking financial damages for past and future lost wages, lost bonuses, and additional employment benefits, in an amount to be determined during the trial.
