Jury Awards $5.4M For Rape At WeHo Nightclub
SANTA MONICA (AP) — A California jury has awarded a woman $5.4 million after finding that she was raped in the restroom of a West Hollywood nightclub by an employee of the establishment.
The woman's attorney says the civil jury reached the award Friday after a 15-day trial in Santa Monica.
The employee, a 23-year-old bus boy named Victor Cruz, was acquitted in the criminal case. He did not attend the civil proceedings.
The 43-year-old plaintiff, a news producer, alleges she was raped at the Here Lounge in 2009 by Cruz.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the jury rejected claims that the sex was consensual.
Jurors found the nightclub should pay 40 percent of the verdict and Cruz 60 percent.
Cruz has not been seen since he was acquitted.
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