Woman who was raped in restroom at Cambridge office building sues building owners and managers and contractors that were doing work in the building
A woman who was raped at knife point in a restroom at 125 Cambridgepark Dr. in May today sued several companies that own or manage the building or were doing construction work in it at the time, seeking information she says the companies have refused to turn over related to just who was working in the building at the time and how and why the building's security systems were turned off.
The woman filed her suit in Suffolk Superior Court, along with a request that she be allowed to proceed with the pseudonym "Joy Jones" to keep her attacker from finding her or her young daughter. In her complaint, she says she has already been forced to move from her home at the time for fear of the guy finding her.
In her suit, the woman says that she was at work in a third-floor office around 9 p.m. on May 17 when she went to use the women's room. Normally, night access is limited to people who have electronic keys - without which the elevator won't work - or who were allowed in by a security guard, and normally security cameras would record movements in hallways. But her complaint charges that on that night, the key and video systems were disabled because of construction work in the building at the time.
While she was in the bathroom, a tall white male, wearing a face mask and a vest/jacket with reflective markings, carrying a knife, entered the bathroom, forcibly stripped her of all her clothing, and brutally raped her.
When she was able to move, JOY crawled, naked, to the 3rd floor elevator, pushed a button and was taken to the 4th floor where a security guard heard her calls for help and, after covering her with a coat, called for an ambulance.
Her complaint asks the judge to let her lawyers conduct "discovery" or document searches and interviews under oath, with the companies she does know about to get details such as the name of the security company on duty that night as well as the names of all the contractors and their employees who were working in the building then and what they were doing - in the hopes of gathering enough information to file more specific claims against the possibly negligent parties that let a rapist in.
Although her complaint is not asking for specific monetary damages, a separate filing puts her damages at more than $3 million for both current and future lost wages and ongoing counseling to help her deal with the trauma of the attack.
Plaintiff is informed and reasonably believes that the Cambridge Police Department will not release any investigatory material while their investigation continues.
Plaintiff is informed and reasonably believes that there is no grand jury presently investigating this matter, and no present plans to make a presentation to on.
There are no adequate alternative methods of obtaining discovery as to the basic ownership, management, construction, service and security facts at the office building, at the time of the attack.
The companies have until April 1 to answer the complaint, court records show.
Attachment | Size |
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Complete complaint | 236.1 KB |
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