{"id":150161,"date":"2020-09-26T05:55:48","date_gmt":"2020-09-26T12:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=150161"},"modified":"2020-09-27T11:22:24","modified_gmt":"2020-09-27T18:22:24","slug":"pechanga-casino-guest-files-10m-claim-for-alleged-sexual-assault-by-worker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pechanga-casino-guest-files-10m-claim-for-alleged-sexual-assault-by-worker\/","title":{"rendered":"Pechanga Casino Guest Files $10M Claim for Alleged Sexual Assault by Worker"},"content":{"rendered":"

California\u2019s Pechanga Resort Casino<\/a> is facing a $10 million claim from a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted in March by a male hotel employee while she was in her room.<\/p>\n

\"California\u2019s
Gloria Allred, an attorney who has represented clients in many high-profile cases, is now representing a woman who claims to have been sexually assaulted while staying at California\u2019s Pechanga Resort Casino. (Image: New York Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The victim, identified as \u201cMichele,\u201dwas physically injured during the March 14 attack and yelled at the employee to stop, according to a claim released to Casino.org<\/em> by the woman\u2019s attorney, high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The incident began when the woman was attempting to reenter her fourth-floor room, and the key card malfunctioned. Michele called for help.<\/p>\n

Eventually, with assistance from an employee and a supervisor, the door was opened. But while standing outside with Michele, the employee repeatedly had her confirm she was staying alone.<\/p>\n

Michele entered her room. She was preparing to go to bed, and was only partially clothed.<\/p>\n

She heard a knock at the door. She opened the door.<\/p>\n

The employee had returned to her room. He was alone.<\/p>\n

She asked what he wanted. The employee then \u201crepeatedly pressured\u201d her to let him into her room, the claim said. He asked \u201cmultiple times if she needed anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

He finally entered the room. The employee then \u201cneedlessly removed a champagne bottle from the \u2026 minibar,\u201d the claim said. He poured her a glass of champagne.<\/p>\n

Earlier that night, she had been drinking alcohol on the gaming floor and appeared intoxicated before reentering the room, the claim said.<\/p>\n

\n

The employee then allegedly sexually assaulted her. He bit and physically injured Michele during the attack, the claim says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Michele yelled for the employee to get off of her. But she claimed the employee continued to sexually assault Michele.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the employee left her room. Michele promptly called the hotel\u2019s front desk to report the incident.<\/p>\n

Sheriff\u2019s deputies and casino security were notified and arrived at the room. Michele was transported to Temecula Valley Hospital, where she was examined with a rape kit. A nurse confirmed injuries to Michele\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

Intoxicated Victim Cannot Give Consent<\/h2>\n

So far, the District Attorney in Riverside County has not prosecuted the employee. The guest’s inebriated condition could be key in any criminal charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to her known intoxication, Michele was incapable of giving legal consent to the employee for any sexual contact,\u201d Allred said. Michele was repeatedly described in statements as being intoxicated or \u201cwasted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMichele has been willing to come forward \u2026 not only because of what she has suffered, but because we have reason to believe that there are many rape cases in California with similar facts that are not being prosecuted. In other words, women who become intoxicated often become victims of sexual violence while they are under the influence,\u201d Allred said.<\/p>\n

During a Thursday press conference, Michele sobbed. \u201cI have \u2026 gone through the worst time of my life\u2026. After the sexual assault, I was a wreck dealing with feelings of anger, sadness, depression, shame, and disbelief,\u201d she told reporters.<\/p>\n

The person who raped me was an employee at Pechanga, and because he was an employee, I put my trust in him, believing that he would act in my best interest to help me. Well, the only thing he helped me with was ruining my life,\u201d she added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She says she was \u201cvictimized again by the D.A.\u2019s office when I was told they weren\u2019t going to prosecute.\u201d<\/p>\n

The name and title of the employee were not identified in the claim. It is unclear if he is still working at the hotel.<\/p>\n

Casino.org<\/em> reached out to Pechanga Resort Casino for comment. They did not provide a statement as of the time of publication.<\/p>\n

The Riverside County District Attorney\u2019s Office said the case was still under review, KCAL TV, a local station, reported.<\/p>\n

Providing a claim is an initial step before filing a formal lawsuit in court.<\/p>\n

Other Casinos Scenes of Alleged Sexual Assaults by Employees<\/h2>\n

Similar allegations against other casinos have been made by female guests. In July 2019, a maintenance worker at Las Vegas\u2019 Circus Circus Hotel was arrested after an intoxicated guest accused him of sexually assaulting her in her hotel room, the Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

Earlier, in 2014, a security worker at Las Vegas\u2019 Aria Resort and Casino used a master key to enter a woman\u2019s room. She was asleep, and he allegedly sexually assaulted her, according to Courthouse News Service.<\/p>\n

Last November, Las Vegas police arrested a one-time Four Queens<\/a> security guard for several sexual assault charges connected to the property.<\/p>\n

The disposition of these cases could not be determined immediately on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California\u2019s Pechanga Resort Casino is facing a $10 million claim from a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted in March by a male hotel employee while she was in her room. The victim, identified as \u201cMichele,\u201dwas physically injured during the March 14 attack and yelled at the employee to stop, according to a claim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":150164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPechanga Casino Guest Files $10M Claim for Alleged Sexual Assault<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"California\u2019s Pechanga Casino is facing a $10 million claim from a woman who alleges she was raped. 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The attacker was allegedly an employee.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pechanga-casino-guest-files-10m-claim-for-alleged-sexual-assault-by-worker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-26T12:55:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-27T18:22:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Gloria-Allred.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pechanga-casino-guest-files-10m-claim-for-alleged-sexual-assault-by-worker\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pechanga-casino-guest-files-10m-claim-for-alleged-sexual-assault-by-worker\/\",\"name\":\"Pechanga Casino Guest Files $10M Claim for Alleged Sexual Assault\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pechanga-casino-guest-files-10m-claim-for-alleged-sexual-assault-by-worker\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pechanga-casino-guest-files-10m-claim-for-alleged-sexual-assault-by-worker\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Gloria-Allred.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-26T12:55:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-27T18:22:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"California\u2019s Pechanga Casino is facing a $10 million claim from a woman who alleges she was raped. 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