Silicon Valley guru hits back at abuse charge

A former partner in leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital has countersued a woman who claimed he sexually abused her for more than a decade, arguing she was trying to extort $40 million from him.

Michael Goguen, the Sequoia Capital partner, was dismissed after the firm became aware of the lawsuit last Thursday, the firm said. Goguen, who joined the Menlo Park, California-based firm in 1996, sits on the boards of about 10 companies.

In the cross-complaint, attorneys for Michael Goguen depicted a consensual affair between Goguen and Baptiste and rejected her claims that he sexually and emotionally abused her.