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An Amazon executive has filed a lawsuit alleging that she was raped by a senior manager after a company night out and was silenced when she tried to take action.
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she → sign → action
Laura Danbom, 39, who was working as a manager in the marketing department at Amazon's Seattle headquarters at the time of the alleged attack, brought the case in King County Superior Court on Tuesday.
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who → work → Tuesday
The civil complaint alleges that during a work trip to New York, Danbom attended a company-funded event with colleagues, including senior manager Michelangelo Simonte.
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Danbom → allege → Simonte
They were treated to an open bar and continued the function at karaoke, all paid for by Amazon, according to the complaint.
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all → treat → complaint
Danbom and Simonte allegedly had not met in person or known one another before the event, but would go on to work more closely together in the year that followed.
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that → meet → year
At the end of the night, Simonte allegedly pressured Danbom to go back to his hotel room and have sexual intercourse.
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Simonte → pressure → intercourse
She says she declined but that he 'had other plans' and came to her hotel room during the early morning hours, according to the complaint.
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he → say → complaint
The lawsuit alleges that: 'Before the rape started, she said no.
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she → allege → ?
During the rape, Laura asked him: “you realize this is,” and Simonte finished her sentence saying “rape?
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Simonte → ask → rape
He ignored her protests.'
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He → ignore → protests
Laura Danbom, 39, has filed a civil lawsuit in Seattle accusing Amazon of violating Washington's Silenced No More Act and creating a hostile work environment
Danbom alleged in the civil complaint that she was raped by Amazon senior manager Michelangelo Simonte at a company event in 2023
That same day, Danbom confided in a friend about the alleged assault and decided to report it to the police, even though she knew the process would be traumatizing.
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process → file → police
But she wanted to stand up for herself and help prevent future attacks against other women.
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she → want → women
But she summoned the energy to fight back,' the lawsuit states.
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lawsuit → summon → energy
Danbom says she reported the incident to police, and a rape kit was conducted.
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kit → say → police
She also claimed to have given them a condom as evidence, but alleged the New York Police Department did not take a DNA sample from Simonte to compare.
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Department → claim → Simonte
The police also instructed her to call Simonte to try to get him to confess, the lawsuit claims.
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lawsuit → instruct → Simonte
She allegedly questioned him about what happened and he told her he was '200 per cent sure' they did not have sexual intercourse.
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they → question → intercourse
However, according to the lawsuit, he contradicted himself during a police interview and told detectives he was too intoxicated to remember.
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he → accord → detectives
Two days after the alleged rape, Danbom says she reported the incident to Amazon's Human Resources and that they conducted an internal investigation.
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they → allege → investigation
A few months later, Amazon concluded that they could not 'substantiate' Danbom's sexual assault claim 'due to a lack of evidence,' according to the complaint.
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they → conclude → complaint
Danbom's attorneys argued in the complaint that Amazon conducted a 'rushed, shoddy investigation,' citing claims that the company did not interview witnesses whom she confided in after the alleged assault.
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she → argue → assault
Dandom reported the incident to the police and a rape kit was performed at the hospital.
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kit → report → hospital
Her hospital bracelet is pictured above and was included in the lawsuit
The complaint argues that the account Danbom gave to cops and work friends immediately after the alleged assault was consistent, but that Amazon failed to recognize the 'wealth of evidence.'
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Amazon → picture → evidence
The tech giant stands accused in the lawsuit of forcing Danbom to continue working with Simonte and to stay silent about the alleged attack if she wanted to keep her job.
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she → accuse → job
Amazon allegedly said it would reopen the investigation only if Simonte was criminally charged.
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Simonte → say → investigation
Danbom is still employed at the company, though now works in a different department.
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Danbom → employ → department
The lawsuit argues that this policy is untenable, citing that only about 18 out of 100 rapes reported to the police result in an arrest.
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rapes → argue → arrest
After the alleged attack, Danbom switched to a different department to avoid Simonte, abandoning 'years of hard-earned progress,' according to the complaint.
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Danbom → allege → complaint
Danbom claims she told HR in an email that seeing Simonte at meetings made her 'unwell' and that she had been 'losing sleep' over the matter.
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she → claim → matter
'Over the following almost three years, the survivor continued working at Amazon, hoping Amazon would change and stand up for her and other women.
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Amazon → follow → her
But she realizes Amazon won’t change unless it is forced to,' the lawsuit states.
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lawsuit → realize → ?
Danbom told the Daily Mail: 'I just really hope that I can empower women to speak up.
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I → tell → women
Because it’s so important that we bring these things to light.
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we → ’ → light
Danbom said that Amazon's alleged failure to investigate the alleged rape set her back years and took an emotional toll on her.
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failure → say → her
She is pictured above with family
Amazon has been accused in the lawsuit of violating Washington's Silenced No More Act, which prohibits companies from barring employees from discussing illegal workplace conduct and creating a hostile work environment.
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which → picture → environment
The lawsuit also alleges that Simonte had a 'history of troubling conduct towards women' and that Amazon failed to protect Danbom from him.
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Amazon → allege → him
Danbom is seeking damages for lost wages and a jury trial.
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Danbom → seek → wages
Amazon has not responded to the complaint.
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Amazon → respond → complaint
Simonte has not spoken out about the allegations against him and is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
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Simonte → speak → lawsuit
An Amazon spokesperson told the Seattle Times in a statement that the company investigates misconduct and takes action against those who violate its policies.
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who → tell → policies
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
