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Newsweek
5 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
5-Star Miami Hotel Sued After Worker Allegedly Entered Woman's Bathroom
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A woman is suing Marriott International and Clearview Building Services, LLC, a cleaning company, for more than $7 million after alleging an employee walked in on her in the shower and brushed against her at the Marriott-owned St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in Miami, Florida. The woman, identified only as C.N., alleges hotel staff then spent 24 hours "obstructing any investigation and allowing critical evidence to disappear" by urging her not to call police, cleaning her room and refusing to provide photographs of staff members who had been on duty. Newsweek reached out to Marriott International and the woman's attorney for comment via email outside of regular office hours on Tuesday, as well as to Clearview Building Services, LLC, via an online inquiry form. The Context The National Crime Victimization Survey says about 7,800 sexual assault incidents are reported in hotels each year, equaling around one per hour across the United States. What To Know According to her lawsuit, the 48-year-old woman was staying at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in Miami with her boyfriend on December 11, 2023, when a staff member wearing a St. Regis uniform walked in on her in the shower, stared at her and brushed up against her while fleeing the room. The guest said she immediately called hotel security and her boyfriend, and waited for around an hour before a supervisor arrived, who told her not to contact the police. "They told us they have such a great relationship with the Bal Harbour police and that I don't need to call them and that they will handle everything," she told Daily Mail. The lawsuit alleges hotel staff later claimed C.N. didn't want to call the police, something she described as "patently false." "I waited 24 hours to call police. In that time they [hotel employees] made sure they had the room cleaned, so there was no effort to protect me - they were protecting the perpetrator," she said. She added, "Why would they clean the room if they really wanted to know who did it? Or, are they protecting their own?" Stock photograph of a hotel room. This photo is not related to the court filing. Stock photograph of a hotel room. This photo is not related to the court filing. Atlantide Phototravel/GETTY According to C.N.'s lawsuit, staff refused to show her photographs of those on duty during the alleged incident. She said: "I was crystal clear on his face and it would have been easy to identify that person but they told me I could not see any photos without a subpoena - they really did not try. They basically ignored me and there was no apology." C.N. said that after the incident, the hotel "asked us if we wanted to change rooms, and I wanted to get out of the room so they moved us to a larger suite and then they charged us for it." She is seeking over $7 million in damages, alleging invasion of privacy, gross negligence and obstruction of justice. What People Are Saying C.N. told Daily Mail: "I was screaming hysterically—screaming at the top of my lungs. "I didn't know what was going to happen next. Just the way he was looking at me up and down like a sicko." C.N.'s attorney, Justin Shapiro, told Daily Mail: "We have a whole lot of cases like this over the years, and when we see this happen, there is almost always a very distinct pattern of neglect on the part of the hotel. "These employees, who are often not background checked and just bad eggs, feel emboldened by the lack of supervision and see it as an opportunity to prey on the guests—whether it is theft of personal property, when they pop into the rooms or incidents like this sexual assault and invasion of privacy." What Happens Next Marriott International and Clearview Building Services have yet to comment publicly on the case. Unless a settlement is reached or the case is withdrawn, it will proceed to court.
Winnipeg Free Press
30-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pride is not just a parade — it's a fight for survival
Opinion This weekend, when you think of Pride, spare a moment to think about Kady Grass. Just two weeks ago, the 19-year-old was beaten severely by five men as she left the bathroom of a McDonald's restaurant in a suburb outside Chicago with her 13-year-old niece. Witnesses and closed-circuit video cameras confirmed that the attackers used homophobic taunts and insults right before the attack. Grass was beaten unconscious and suffered a broken nose. Two of the men who attacked her — one 19, one 16 — have been charged with a variety of offences including one count of perpetrating a hate crime. Mike Sudoma / Free Press files Violent hate crimes and the legal persecution of LGBTTQ+ people is a growing, global phenomenon. 'They attacked me because I like women,' Grass said in a social media post. 'All I did was exist that day. I went to go spend time with my family, and then, I was brutally attacked. There was nothing I did to deserve that.' The key statement is Grass' acknowledgement that she was attacked simply because she existed. That is something we all need to keep in mind as we enter the final weekend of Pride festivities here in Manitoba because, in case you hadn't heard, the very existence of LGBTTQ+ people here, across Canada, all over North America and across the world is under attack. In 2023, even as the incidence of overall violent crime was going down, Statistics Canada reported that hate crimes against LGBTTQ+ people had gone up 70 per cent. It's not just a blip; since 2016, hate crimes targeting sexual orientation have gone up by nearly 400 per cent. In the United States, the situation is similar in some ways, worse in others. The 2023 National Crime Victimization Survey found that LGBTTQ+ people were five times more likely to be a victim of violence than non-LGBTTQ+ people, and nine times more likely to be the victim of a hate crime. It's also not just a North American phenomenon. Violent hate crimes and the legal persecution of LGBTTQ+ people is a growing, global phenomenon. Just about every entity that tracks these incidents believes only half of all attacks are reported to authorities. Human Dignity Trust, a U.K.-based organization that advocates for legal protections for LGBTTQ+ all over the world, said 65 countries consider same-sex relationships to be illegal, 12 of those countries allow the death penalty as the maximum sentence. Of those that consider it illegal, 41 countries have criminalized 'private, consensual sexual activity between women.' Why the spike in hate and violence directed at LGBTTQ+ people? It's complicated but not impossible to discern. Compassion and empathy have been in short supply since the worst, early days of the pandemic. That, in turn, has helped ignite a global rise in far-right populism which holds, as one of its core principles, the desire to suppress, possibly erase, the existence of LGBTTQ+ people. It's not bleak everywhere in the world. In fact, while attacks on LGBTTQ+ people are escalating in Canada, this country can still claim a place on the forefront of this critical human rights issue. It's visible in gestures such as Manitoba's NDP government holding what very well could be the first Pride drag show inside a provincial legislative building. Two notable local drag queens performed in the rotunda outside the legislative chamber to a raucous crowd of Pride supporters. 'This is the people's building,' Premier Wab Kinew told those in attendance. 'I hope you always feel welcome here.' Tributes should also be extended to Canada's federal government. Love in a Dangerous Time, a poignant exhibit about the threats faced by Canada's LGBTTQ+ community that was created for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg was transported to Canada's breathtaking embassy in Washington, D.C. Taking this exhibit to Washington — ground zero in an aggressive anti-LGBTTQ+ campaign by the Trump administration — is a pretty courageous act by Ottawa. The exhibit will be in the embassy, which has a panoramic view of the U.S. Capitol buildings, until August 29. In a more perfect world, gestures such as this would not necessarily be required. But in this day and age, Pride celebrations are still essential largely because the world has become a harder and more dangerous place for LGBTTQ+ people. It would be easy to see Pride just as another cultural event, disconnected from any serious societal issues. In reality, the origins of 'Pride' can be found in violent attacks and persecution on the LGBTTQ+ community in the U.S. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. Pride has always been framed as a celebration, and with good reason. But in its earliest days, it was a courageous act of defiance against the legal and political systems that endorsed unmitigated violence and persecution. So, this weekend, it would be a great gesture if we all paid tribute to the origins of Pride, while keeping in mind the reason it exists. Most non-LGBTTQ+ people, when they hear the term 'Pride,' will almost automatically think 'parade.' When you hear the word 'Pride' this year, think 'survival.' Dan LettColumnist Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan. Dan's columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press' editing team reviews Dan's columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
