Millionaire loses 'indecent proposal' case
KAREN MCVEIGH
IT WAS known as the Indecent Proposal case, but the highly-charged tale of sex, power, and wealth set against the strict morality of an Orthodox Jewish community had more twists and turns than the Hollywood movie itself.
On one side was Brian Maccaba, 46, a multi-millionaire businessman from Dublin and leading patron of the secluded community in north-west London. He claimed he was the victim of a poisonous whispering campaign accusing him of serial adultery and harassment - including the extraordinary allegation that he acted like Robert Redford's character in the Demi Moore film by offering $1million to buy a Jewish married woman from her husband.
On the other was respected rabbi and senior religious judge Dayan Yaakov Lichtenstein, 49, whom Mr Maccaba accused of slander, which he vehemently denied. He, in turn, accused Mr Maccaba of being a "spurned millionaire sex pest", who bought his way into the affections of the family of Natalie Attar, 35 - the alleged victim of the proposal and harassment.
Yesterday Mr Maccaba lost his slander claim after a High Court jury believed that the case put forward by Mr Lichtenstein was "substantially true" and without malice.
The jury returned their verdict after nearly 32 hours of deliberation over what was a highly emotional case offering an insight into the intensely private world of Orthodox Jews.
Mr Lichtenstein told the court that Mr Maccaba, an Irish Catholic who had converted to Judaism in 1990, pursued the case to seek revenge on Mrs Attar, a family friend who had rejected him, and the rabbi who had assisted her. He denies ever calling Mr Maccaba an adulterer - a sin considered to be a form of incest in the close-knit society.
He believed, however, that he harassed her and made the "indecent proposal" although the case was found not proven in 2001 in the Beth Din or Jewish court.
Mrs Attar, who is now seven months pregnant with her fourth child, told the High Court she was shocked by Mr Maccaba's protestations of love for her. On one occasion he "forced himself on her by kissing her on the lips" a few days before the birth of her second child, the court heard, and on another he grabbed her breasts in a car. He denies this.
She and her husband, Alain, felt trapped by the wealthy businessman, she said. He had loaned them £7,800 towards a deposit for their first house and had showered their families with expensive gifts and loans.
To pay off his loan, Mrs Attar privately tutored his daughters and later worked in a school he founded in Hendon.
Mr Maccaba, a twice-married father of six and founder of international technology company Cognotec, admitted that his relationship with Mrs Attar was an intensely emotional one, which got "far too close" between June 1998 and August 1999, but he denied he was in love with her or that the relationship was physical. He now faces a bill of £2 million in costs.
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