A woman filed a complaint against Dollar Tree Inc. after alleging that a man discreetly ejaculated on her back while she was shopping in a Texas store in December.
The claimed event occurred around 10:30 a.m. on December 5 at the business at 1430 W. Gray St. in Houston, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Harris County District Court. The woman, identified in the lawsuit by her initials M.R. to protect her identity, stated that she was exploring things in one aisle while her buddy was in another. She claimed that a man abruptly approached her and “started saying sexually explicit things to her.”
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The plaintiff raced away and told her friend they had to leave. As they were paying for the groceries, she noticed the man leaving on his bicycle.
“As Plaintiff was getting into her car, her friend pointed out something wet and sticky all over the back of Plaintiff’s sweatshirt,” the complaint stated. “Plaintiff realized that the perpetrator had ejaculated on her while making his vulgar remarks to her inside the store.”
The woman and her friend helped clean her up using towels they bought inside, according to the lawsuit. She then returned home to take a shower and change her clothes in order to “clear her mind of the dirty, disturbing encounter,” according to the suit. She later called her sister, a police officer, who recommended she report the event. The victim returned to the store to speak with the employees.
When she reported what had occurred, the clerk allegedly exclaimed at her management, “We got another one.” It was apparently the third attack on the firm in four days. The plaintiff called police and offered investigators the towels she used to clean up in the hopes that they would be able to identify the culprit using his DNA, according to the lawsuit. A security guard at the store also took her statement and drove her around in his golf cart to check if she saw the suspect among the homeless individuals standing around. However, she did not see the man, according to the lawsuit. Employees at Dollar Tree allegedly told her that while there were cameras in the store, they did not capture the incident.
The complaint stated that the defendants’ negligence facilitated the sexual assault, resulting in severe mental anguish, emotional distress, and emotional trauma for the plaintiff. “Her symptoms include, but are not limited to, nightmares, significant anxiety, fearfulness, and distrust of others, especially men.”
Her lawyers claim that the company failed to maintain adequate staffing numbers, adopt security measures, report the incident and previous assaults to police, and warn consumers about the string of sexually motivated crimes.
“It is shocking and despicable,” her attorney, Anna Greenberg of Blizzard & Greenberg Law, said in a statement. “How could a complete stranger abuse my client in the middle of a weekday morning?”That alone demonstrates that Dollar Tree fails to provide a secure atmosphere for its customers.”
Plaintiffs also included recent news reports in their case about how dollar stores frequently attract crimes such as theft and violence. In fact, CNN reported last year that Dollar Tree had to lock up specific items or simply stop selling them due to frequent theft.
The lawsuit demands more than $250,000.
A representative for Virginia-based Dollar Tree said the company was aware of the case but could not comment on current litigation.
“Know that we take the situation very seriously and are committed to providing a safe shopping environment for our customers,” a spokeswoman added.
