Articles Posted in Crimes on Land

MIAMI, FL—August 8, 2011 – A lawsuit seeking damages in excess of $5 million was filed in L.A. County Superior Court on behalf of a woman who once worked as a receptionist for renowned automotive designer Carroll Shelby. The legendary car-maker, best known for designing the Ford Mustang Cobra, is being accused of sexually assaulting his former employee and failing to take any “corrective action” after she reported being raped by another one of his employees at his own home, as reported by TMZ.
According to information provided, Angelica Smith was hired as a receptionist for the famed automaker in 2005, but claims she was practically regarded as a “personal servant.” Smith contended her job duties often included “grocery runs, liquor runs, pornography runs.”
Not only does the sexual assault lawsuit claim “on at least one occasion, Shelby himself sexually battered [Smith] by groping her,” it also accuses the car designer of disregarding her allegations that another one his workers “drugged and raped” her. Both sexual attacks allegedly occurred within the confines of Shelby’s home.
Furthermore, the suit alleges that Smith’s employment was terminated after she reported the alleged rape to her employer. Defendants named in the pending lawsuit included Carroll Shelby, the companies he owns and the unidentified employee who allegedly raped her in Dec. 2010. The sex assault case is underway.

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MIAMI, FL— July 21, 2011 – A California man employed as a masseur at a Seal Beach spa faces three felony charges after three women accused him of sexually assaulting them during massage treatments. According to information provided by the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County DA Office urged any additional sexual assault victims to come forth and report their cases to authorities.

Officials from the Orange County district attorney’s office recently charged Jason Michael Elliott, a 28-year-old Sunset Beach masseur, with “three felony counts of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense.”
Although the first victim reported her case to the Seal Beach Police Department in Nov. 2009, Elliot apparently worked as a masseur at the Seal Beach-based Massage Envy spa between August 2009 and April 2010. Prosecutors stated that the Orange County masseur was fired after his employers were informed of the sexual assault accusations pending against him.

Prosecutors also told reporters from the Huntington Beach Independent that an investigation into the first alleged sexual attack appeared to connect Elliot to two additional workplace assaults.

Reports suggested that although the accused masseur managed to post $100,000 bail, he could face up to eight years and eight months in prison if convicted of the offenses. The sexual assault case is underway.

National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention statistics suggested 17.7 million American women (1 out of every 6 females in the U.S.) have been victims of attempted or completed rape.

According statistics posted on the website for the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence (FCASV), a total of 11,214 sexual assaults were reported statewide during the year 2007. Forcible sex offences resulted in 3,064 Florida arrests that year.

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MIAMI, FL— June 20, 2011 – A North Florida woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by a massage therapist at a Miami spa, who was already being investigated for the alleged sexual assault of two other women, filed a lawsuit against the resort on June 16, 2011. According to information provided by NBC Miami, the accused spa worker was arrested in both February and May after two additional customers claimed to have been sexually assaulted by him while undergoing massages.

Lynn Scruggs, who contended she was groped by a message therapist at Doral Golf Resort and Spa in September 2010, brought on the most recent sexual assault lawsuit. According to the civil suit, 27-year-old spa employee David Munoz was giving Scruggs a body scrub in a private room when he touched her inappropriately.  
The lawsuit names Doral Golf Resort and Spa on the basis that the spa allowed Munoz to continue massaging women even though he was being investigated for alleged assaults on two other female customers. When Miami-Dade police officials arrested the spa employee in February, he reportedly told them that he “lost his head” while massaging some women.

The lawsuit alleges that after Munoz touched Scruggs inappropriately, he apologized and pressed her to keep the incident to herself. Though the alleged sexual assault victim has yet to file a criminal complaint against Munoz, her lawsuit against the Doral spa is underway. Reports did not provide details into any of the other four lawsuits pending against the Miami resort.

According to statistics provided by the National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 17.7 million American women (1 out of every 6 American women) have been victims of attempted or completed rape.

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MIAMI, FL— June 14, 2011 – A recent investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that a significant portion of the almost 300 alleged sexual assault reports received by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police between January 2007 and July 2010 were not relayed to the VA Inspector General’s Office. Veterans Affairs policies mandate that all rape reports be passed on to the chain of command and the VA inspector general, the Washington Post explained.

Over a span of approximately three years,  VA police officials received a total of 284 reports of alleged sexual assaults at nationwide veterans hospitals and facilities. The alleged assaults were described as “suspected, alleged, attempted, or confirmed cases of sexual assault.”
Among those reports, there were 67 cases of alleged rape and 185 cases of alleged groping. Furthermore, there were eight cases alleging “forceful” medical exams and 24 cases claiming miscellaneous forms of sexual assault.

Of those 67 alleged rape cases, only about one third were reported to the VA Inspector General’s Office, as mandated by Veterans Affairs regulations. Reports noted that many of the sexual assault allegations have yet to be formally proven.

The GAO report also suggested that the level of “physical” security being upheld at many VA facilities was of a substandard nature. The investigation found that many facilities had defective alarm systems and an insufficient number of VA police officers on hand. The probe also revealed that some facilities failed to examine surveillance footage in an efficient manor.

The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, which requested that the GAO conduct the VA audit, was expected to discuss the security issues and the apparent trend of under-reporting next week. According to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), “When I first read this report, I was aghast… It reminded me of a 1950s prison system — lawlessness, lack of security and reporting, and outright disregard for human dignity.”
Additionally, Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.), chairman of the committee’s health division, contended, “The VA failed to protect patients and staff because it did not take the system-wide allegations seriously enough to actually address them.”

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MIAMI, FL— June 8, 2011 – “Not guilty,” pleaded former International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was accused of sexually assaulting a chambermaid at Manhattan’s Sofitel hotel last month. Before the French politician could even set foot inside the NYC courtroom on June 6, so he could plead not guilty to sexual assault and attempted rape charges, he was greeted by a fuming mob of hotel employees. New York Daily News reports suggested their message was simple and to the point: “Shame on you.”
The former head of the IMF was placed on house arrest, with his bail set to $6 million, after a housekeeper at the Sofitel hotel claimed Strauss-Kahn forcefully removed her clothing before making her “perform oral sex and submit to anal sex.”
While defense attorneys on the case are expected to argue that the episode was consensual, those representing the alleged sexual assault victim, who has remained both unidentified and unseen thus far, maintained that his client had no intention of dropping the charges or settling with the defendant.

Additionally, a recent Newsweek report shed light on a luxury hotel industry in which the need to fulfill the desires of rich and powerful guests has the potential to surpass the need to ensure that employees are not subject to harassment or sexual assault.

According to the Miami sexual assault attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, many hotels are reluctant to report occurrences that could be viewed as sexual harassment or assault due to the fact that the cases will likely result in negative press. 
Even an unidentified security supervisor at one of Las Vegas’ major hotels told reporters, “We are not police. We are not looking to call something a crime. Unless someone wants to press charges, we try not to call Metro.”
Furthermore, although panic buttons could help protect hotel employees from potentially dangerous guests, the question remains: Are hotel security officers trained to react and respond in an appropriate and timely fashion?

Though a trial date for the Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case has yet to be set, the case is ongoing.

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MIAMI, FL—June 06, 2011 – Citing recent cases of sexual assaults on hotel maids, two New York City hotels have decided to offer their housekeepers panic buttons as a means of protecting them from potentially violent guests. According to Reuters, the Manhattan-based Sofitel hotel, where International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn allegedly sexually assaulted a chambermaid during his stay, and The Pierre hotel, where the former chairman of one of Egypt’s main banks, Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar attempted to rape a housekeeper, plan to give their employees panic buttons so they have the ability to contact hotel security if they find themselves in danger.

Even the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council has reportedly taken the initiative to begin petitioning for a law that would require all New York hotels to provide their employees with panic buttons. According to the Miami injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, who specialize in cases of on-the-job rape and sexual assaults, a nationwide law mandating the use of panic buttons in hotels could be extremely conducive in the fight against workplace violence.

Bureau of Justice Statistics indicated that of approximately 36,500 workplace victimizations reported on an annual basis, 2.1 percent consisted of cases in which employees became victims of workplace sexual assault or rape.

Additionally, statistics provided by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) suggested that only about 40 percent of all rape cases are ultimately reported to police. If a rape victim does indeed report their case to authorities, there is only a 50.8 percent chance that the attacker will be arrested.

Furthermore, while there is an 80 percent chance that the offender will be prosecuted in the case, there remains only a 58 percent chance of conviction and a 69 percent chance that the assailant will be sentenced to time in jail.

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MIAMI, FL— May 25, 2011 – With sexual assault and attempted rape charges pending against IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, countless hotels appear to be assessing their security methods to ensure that guests and employees receive adequate protection from criminal activity. According to information provided by Reuters, Strategic Hotels And Resorts Inc. Chief Executive Laurence Geller told reporters that following the attack of any guest or hotel worker, “You revise your protocols and procedures… Physical abuse has always been a problem in hotels.” 
After a chambermaid at the Manhattan-based Sofitel hotel accused Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, of forcing her to “perform oral sex and submit to anal sex” when she entered his suite to clean, officers from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) arrested and booked the French politician into Riker’s Island jail. Though he posted bail and was eventually released, he remains detained inside a heavily guarded NYC apartment.

“This is still a fairly rare and exceptional event, thankfully, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore it,” said Arne Sorenson, Marriott International Inc.’s chief operating officer. Sorenson noted, “You have to find a way to both make sure our associates are safe and doing the right thing and you have to protect the privacy of our guests…There’s a little bit of tension between those two things.”

At the hotel where the alleged sexual attack occurred, housekeeping employees are required to leave the door open when performing standard job duties. NYPD investigators contended that data stored on the electronic card reader of Strauss-Khan’s suite door indicated the maid left the door open on the day she was allegedly assaulted.

Geller noted that electronic card readers have had a significant positive impact on hotel security.  “The key rack was the villain of all villains, strangely enough,” said Geller, explaining that when room keys were hung on racks behind the receptionist’s desk in the past, attackers could easily find out which suites were vacant and which guests occupied the remainder of a hotel’s rooms.

Furthermore, the Associated Press recently reported that “material” discovered on the uniform the sexual assault victim was wearing on the day of the alleged attack matched Strauss-Khan’s DNA. Investigators also collected other pieces of physical evidence, such as a portion of the rug where the maid reportedly spat after performing involuntary oral sex on Strauss-Khan. The results of DNA tests on those items are still pending.

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