A Houston woman is suing Dollar Tree, alleging that the company’s negligence had a part in the 2023 sexual assault that occurred in one of its stores.
As to a court filing filed in Harris County, the woman was sexually assaulted on December 5 at a Dollar Tree in Houston while she was shopping for supplies for an impending work function.
he woman was in one of the aisles shopping when an unidentified guy approached her from behind and started “saying sexually explicit things to her,” according to the civil lawsuit’s petition.
“Disgusted” by the remarks, the woman quickly left the man’s company, located her companion in the shop, and informed her that they “needed to leave,” according to the court filing.
According to the petition, the woman witnessed the man ride off on a bicycle while she was paying for her purchases at the register.
According to the petition, the woman’s buddy noticed something on the back of her sweatshirt as soon as she got into her car. The woman was making “vulgar remarks” to the man inside the Dollar Tree when she soon realized he had sexually abused her.
“Shocked, all (the woman) could think about was going home to change clothes, shower and rid her mind of the dirty, disturbing encounter,” the petition stated.
Dollar Tree “is aware of the lawsuit,” according to a business spokeswoman, but “cannot comment on the pending litigation.”
“Know that we take the situation very seriously and are committed to providing a safe shopping environment for our customers,” the company spokesperson stated.
Employee at Dollar Tree: “We got another one.”
Upon returning home, the woman phoned her sister, a police officer, who instructed her to “preserve the evidence and report the incident,” as stated in the court filing.
The petition states that the woman went back to the Dollar Tree with her friend and reported the sexual assault to a store clerk after calling her sister. “We got another one,” the petition claims the woman yelled to her manager in the back office after telling the clerk.
The victim was subsequently informed by the clerk that “this was the third assault in the store in four days by a man who matched the physical description of the perpetrator,” according to the petition.
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According to the petition, the woman spoke with the clerk and then called the police right away. According to the petition, the woman gave the police an explanation of what had happened and gave them towels bearing the accused attacker’s DNA. There is no footage of the attack, even though Dollar Tree cameras captured it.
According to the petition, a security guard employed by the retail center attested to the woman that prior to her assault, similar events had been reported.
According to the court petition, the victim was driven around the shopping center by the guard to try and identify her attacker, but she was unable to do so.
The petition claims that the management of the Dollar Tree business denied that there was video of the incident, even though the cashier had earlier informed the woman that the store had cameras.
The victim has “suffered severe mental anguish, emotional distress and trauma” following the sexual attack, the petition states. She has “nightmares, significant anxiety, fearfulness and distrust of others, especially men,” according to the petition.
According to the court document, the woman is requesting financial assistance totaling more than $1 million.
