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SF Woman Sues Luxury Mexican Resort Alleging Sexual Assault by Staff

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On Nov. 10, 2016, six young mothers flew to Cabo for a four-night stay at the Esperanza, a five-star resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The women were enjoying some ladies bonding time in their luxury accommodations.  On their last night, the 13th, they dressed up and ordered a fancy dinner in their villa. They were served their meal at about 7 pm, with a replacement waiter attending them.  He brought them shots of tequila, although they had not ordered alcohol. Around 9 pm, one of the women, a doctor from East Bay, went to bed before her friends.

This is where her nightmare began, according to the filing of her lawsuit, dated October 30th.  Wishing to remain anonymous, she has shared her story in an hour-long interview with The Mercury News, a California newspaper. She alleges that as she slept in the bedroom, only some 30 feet away from her friends, the hotel’s waiter sneaked into the room and sexually assaulted her as she slept.  “I woke up. I was confused, thinking I was having a dream with somebody’s fingers inside of me,” said the woman. “I was very disoriented, as I was kind of coming to and he said something like: ‘It was part of the service.’” She says that the waiter reached to remove his own belt, but that the other women returned into the villa, and he fled in fright.

She was shocked and came running out to her friends, who called the front desk and asked for security staff.  The woman says, the hotel then sent the same waiter to their room. There, two of the women confronted him, and say that he admitted and “appearing nervous” apologized. Later in the evening, the night manager came to the room and interviewed them, but said the police would not be coming. The next morning the women drove an hour to the police station, and underwent the scrutiny of multiple interviews and tests.

The ladies missed their flights and were accommodated an extra night by the hotel and were booked on a charter flight home. Upon the woman’s return, however, besides for receiving a few initial emails from the hotel and authorities, she received no updates to the case. Repeated phone attempts to reach investigators at the Cabo tourist police and letters mailed to Mexican Authorities have been unsuccessful in bringing closure to the case. From what she heard, the waiter was never charged. “It feels like there’s nothing I can do and they just sort of swept the whole thing under the rug,” the woman said. “I want justice, but I don’t feel like I can get it.”

The woman, a mother in her 30s, describes feeling helpless and depressed. Unfortunately, the story is not one of a kind but rather illustrates the agony many Americans have felt when crime ensues at Mexican resorts.  The staff members seem unaffected, and even worse the law enforcement is unresponsive. In August an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, found that American and Canadian tourists who were victimized in robberies, assaults and other crimes at Mexican resorts often received limited cooperation by the local police.

This woman chose to publicize what happened to prevent it from happening to others. “It’s important to do as a warning and as a survivor to tell my story that this can happen to anyone and anywhere,” she said. “It was pretty devastating. It was hard to pinpoint one way. It’s affected my relationship with my family, friendships, I have more anxiety, depression, trouble sleeping, I’m afraid to go on vacation. It’s really affected everything in my life.”

She is suing Auberge Resorts, the Marine County based parent company to Esperanza, for negligence in hiring the waiter, and failing to properly check his background. She also cited the dismissive way they handling her case. “Travelers who choose accommodations like those in the Auberge collection do so in part because they expect and trust they will be safe within the walls of those resorts,” said Paul Llewellyn, the woman’s attorney. “Unfortunately, Auberge had no concern for the safety of my client, and its failure to take action following the incident raises serious questions about the safety of its future guests.”

Auberge confirmed it had been served with the suit, and said that it intended to “defend itself appropriately.” “The safety and welfare of our guests and staff is our highest priority,” the company said in a statement. “While we do not comment on pending litigation, we take this matter seriously and acted in accordance with our policies and procedures. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, including maintaining a zero tolerance policy for any type of harassment, with the goal of providing a safe and comfortable environment for all our guests and staff.”

 

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