Bar sex assault victim sues for $2.4M
Manager already convicted; now he, firm and its owner named as civil defendants
A woman who was sexually assaulted by her manager while training at a ByWard Market nightclub has filed a lawsuit for more than $2.4 million against her attacker, the company that ran the bar and its sole owner, alleging they promoted and encouraged an unsafe environment where female employees were sexualized and plied with alcohol.
The woman, whose identity is shielded by a publication ban imposed during the criminal trial of the man who sexually assaulted her, was just 19 years old and a student at Carleton University in January 2015, when Mariano De Marinis contacted her asking if she was looking for work, according to a statement of claim filed on July 31.
The lawsuit refers to her using the pseudonym A.B.
Less than two months later, De Marinis would follow the inebriated teen to the bathroom, digitally penetrate her vagina and force oral sex on her when she was too drunk to consent.
De Marinis, who assaulted A.B. while he was the manager of Kavali Nightclub at 34 Clarence St., the company that previously carried on business as the nightclub and Aydin Kharaghani, its sole director, who is well-known in the ByWard Market for his business ventures and as one of the founders of Escapade music festival, are all named as defendants.
The woman alleges she “sustained serious, and permanent personal injuries including nervous shock, anxiety, depression and emotional trauma.”
A.B. was forced to temporarily withdraw from university and incurred medical bills to treat “extensive psychological injuries” caused by the sexual harassment and sexual assault.
The woman started working as a hostess at the nightclub where De Marinis began to sexually harass her, according to the lawsuit.
“This harassment and assault consisted of unwanted physical contact, such as hugging A.B. from behind and feeling her hips, unwanted invitations to socialize outside of work, and unwanted, sexually suggestive messages.” In one, he told her underwear was optional. In another, he asked if there were nude pictures of herself on her phone.
On the night of Feb. 15, 2015, A.B. was training to be a bartender, the most coveted position at the club and a promotion from her job as hostess, with De Marinis supervising her training.
“Throughout the evening, De Marinis and other employees ... encouraged A.B. to consume alcohol,” the lawsuit alleges.
In two hours, she had taken 10 shots of tequila or whiskey. She sought refuge in an upstairs bathroom to vomit, but was instead followed by De Marinis, who assaulted her.
Afterward, the lawsuit alleges, he took her phone and underwear with him.
Sometime shortly after the assault, Kharaghani, who owned the club, and the manager of bottle service at the establishment contacted A.B. through her former boyfriend, according to the statement of claim. The woman met with both of them at the nightclub where Kharaghani told her that there was video footage of her holding De Marinis’ hand, that the bar manager denied assaulting her and that Kharaghani believed him, the claim said. “Kharaghani asked A.B. what she wanted out of this, whether she wanted a job as a bartender, and whether she would go to the police.”
The lawsuit alleges the owner asked the young woman to tell him before she went to detectives.
She did eventually go to police, who charged De Marinis, then 31, with a single count of sexual assault in May 2015. De Marinis was convicted of sexual assault in November 2017 after a 10-day trial.
The lawsuit alleges that, as her attacker, he inflicted pain and suffering on A.B., that as her supervisor he breached a duty of care to provide for her safety but also that the company “encouraged a workplace in which customers and employees viewed women as sexual objects, in particular through its marketing and its uniforms,” and that it “economically benefited from its sexualized workplace.”
The lawsuit alleges that the company gave De Marinis his powers and responsibilities to abuse. The company also “authorized and encouraged vulnerable employ- ees such as A.B. to consume large amounts of alcohol while training and on the job, increasing their vulnerability to sexual harassment and assault by De Marinis.”
The company breached its duty of care by not training employees to prevent or report harassment and assault, didn’t implement or update policies to address harassment or assault, didn’t conduct background checks on managers, didn’t investigate complaints of sexual harassment or assault, didn’t supervise how managers interacted with employees and discouraged employees from reporting any abuse, the lawsuit alleges.
Kharaghani, as the sole director, exercised complete control of the company, and the lawsuit alleges he is ultimately responsible for hiring and keeping De Marinis as bar manager and maintaining the environment created by the company.
Kavali Nightclub is now under new ownership and management. The new owners told this newspaper that they bought out the lease, some furniture and equipment about a month ago in the middle of the summer season, but are operating an entirely separate business. They also have plans to rename the nightclub, specifically to distance it from its troubled past.
De Marinis was sentenced to serve nine months in jail in May of this year for the sexual assault.
Attempts to reach Kharaghani were not immediately successful.
No statement of defence has yet been filed in court.