Dollar Tree sued by Houston woman who was sexually assaulted in a store

A Houston woman is suing Dollar Tree, claiming the corporation's negligence contributed to her being sexually assaulted in one of its stores in 2023.

The sexual assault occurred at a Dollar Tree in Houston on Dec. 5, when the woman went to the discount store to buy items for an upcoming work event, according to a court document filed in Harris County. While the woman was browsing in one of the aisles, an unidentified man came up behind her and began "saying sexually explicit things to her," according to the petition for the civil lawsuit.

"Disgusted" by the comments, the woman hurried away from the man, found her friend in the store and told her they "needed to leave," the court document said. As the woman was paying for her items at the register, she saw the man leave the store and ride away on a bicycle, according to the petition.

As the woman got into her car, her friend pointed out that she had a substance on the back of her sweatshirt, the petition says. The woman quickly realized the man in the Dollar Tree had sexually assaulted her while he was making "vulgar remarks" to her inside the store.

"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 says.

A company spokesperson told USA TODAY that Dollar Tree is "aware of the lawsuit" and "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 said.

Dollar Tree employee: 'We got another one'

Once home, the woman called her sister, a police officer, who told her she needed to "preserve the evidence and report the incident," according to the court document.

After the woman called her sister, she and her friend went back to the Dollar Tree and reported the sexual assault to one of the store's clerks, the petition says. Once the woman told the clerk, she shouted to her manager in the back office: "We got another one," the petition says.

The clerk then told the woman that "this was the third assault in four days in the store by a man who matched the physical description of the perpetrator," the petition continued.

The woman called the police immediately after speaking with the clerk, according to the petition. Once officers arrived, the woman explained what happened and provided them with towels containing the alleged assailant's DNA, the petition said.

Footage of the assault does not exist, despite cameras in Dollar Tree

A security guard who worked in the shopping center confirmed to the woman that there were similar incidents reported before her assault, the petition says. The guard drove the woman around the shopping center to see if she could identify the assailant, but she could not, according to the court filing.

Despite the clerk telling the woman earlier that cameras were in the Dollar Tree, the store's manager denied that footage of the incident existed, the petition says.

Since the sexual assault, the woman has "suffered severe mental anguish, emotional distress and trauma," according to the petition. Her symptoms include "nightmares, significant anxiety, fearfulness and distrust of others, especially men," the petition continued.

The woman is seeking over $1 million in monetary relief, according to the court filing.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dollar Tree sued: Houston woman says she was sexually assaulted in store