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Woman Sues Theatre For Rape
A Los Angeles woman who says she was raped by a security guard during a concert at the downtown Mayan Theatre has sued the venue and her alleged attacker.
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in LA
In the complaint, filed Sept. 18 in Los Angeles Superior Court, the woman claims the Mayan failed to provide a safe environment for herself and other patrons and employees “were permitted to approach female patrons, stalk them, sexually assault them and rape them.”
The woman says in the complaint that security guard Jaime Ayala first approached her while she was in line with a friend waiting to enter a concert. She alleges he then brought her inside the club without having to wait and upgraded her seats for the show. As the concert progressed, the complaint says, he followed her every time she got up to use the restroom or go to the bar.
She claims that after she rejected his request to follow him to a secluded area, he “picked her up on his shoulders and took her to a closed door stairway,” where he allegedly raped her. The complaint further states that “while defendant Ayala was committing his atrocious acts upon Plaintiff, a manager for the Mayan opened the door to the stairway, saw what was occurring, said ‘Sorry, man’ to Defendant Ayala, and closed the door, instead of stopping [him].” When the alleged assault ended, the plaintiff escaped and notified other security guards at the club and reported the assault, according to the complaint. Instead of assisting her, she claims she was “tossed out of the club.”
In addition to accusing Ayala of rape and assault, the plaintiff claims the “misconduct was authorized, ratified and approved of” by the Mayan Theatre and operator Ten Thirty Eight Inc. Ayala, the Mayan Theatre and Ten Thirty Eight Inc. are named as defendants and as many as 50 “John Doe” defendants who may be named later. They are being sued for assault, sexual battery, battery, negligence, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and civil rights violations. Mayan Theatre and Ten Thirty Eight are also charged with negligent hiring, supervision and retention.
The suit seeks unspecified special and general damages, punitive damages, civil penalties, and court and attorneys fees. Mayan representatives were not available at press time.