Illegal Service Of Alcohol To Visibly Intoxicated Patron Led To Sexual Assault
A thirty-two-year-old wife and mother of three young children was tragically and shamefully sexually assaulted while she was unconscious by two men who were the husbands of her co-workers. The sexual assaults occurred after the assailants had been drinking heavily at an alcohol-fueled going away party for one of the assailants and his wife, who worked with the victim. The bar that hosted the event was Duffer’s Tavern in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Duffer’s served the two assailants at least 35 total alcoholic beverages throughout the night. Their estimated blood alcohol levels were over 0.20% and possibly even higher than 0.25%, which is more than three times the legal limit for driving. Many other partygoers at Duffer’s admitted they too were over-served excessive amounts of alcohol by the bar. One of the assailant’s wives even urinated herself and the other assailant’s wife admitted she was completely “blacked out”. After she was taken back to one of the assailant’s homes where she expected to sleep safely on the couch, the victim fell asleep and was virtually unconscious as the two men removed her clothes and sexually assaulted her. The assailants ultimately admitted to what they did, but neither of them had criminal records and admitted they never would have even thought of doing this if it was not for their being highly intoxicated.
When the victim was unsuspecting and at her most vulnerable, she was shockingly and shamefully taken advantage of sexually. These actions were a total violation of her body and mind, traumatizing her psychologically, emotionally, and physically. As a result of this traumatic event, the victim was diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She suffers from intrusive memories and experiences of the events in question; variable sleep disturbance; physiological arousal; anticipatory anxiety; avoidance of persons, places and things that remind her of the assault; interpersonal problems; and negative thoughts.
A lawsuit was filed against the two assailants, Duffer’s Tavern, and the homeowner where the assault took place. A few days before trial, Mr. Marciano and Mr. MacAvoy obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of the victim.
