Virginia woman suing Lisle hotel

A Virginia woman filed a lawsuit against a Lisle hotel claiming a bartender drugged her drink and later sneaked into her room with the help of a front desk clerk and sexually assaulted her.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court Wednesday, claims a 31-year-old bartender slipped a date-rape drug into the woman's drink while she was at the Lisle-Naperville Hilton on Oct. 27. The woman began to feel ill at around 1:30 or 2 p.m. and went up to her room before her food had arrived at the hotel bar, said her attorney Jeffrey Deutschman.

The bartender got a key to the woman's room from the front desk staff and sexually assaulted her as she was passed out in the room, according to the lawsuit.

The suit names the hotel as the defendant, claiming the staff was negligent in allowing the bartender access to the woman's room. The suit seeks payment in excess of $75,000 plus the cost of court fees.

The woman's attorney said she remembers little from the time she went back to her room until 8 a.m. the next day when she woke up, but has vague memories of a man being in the room.

The woman called a friend the next morning and went to an area hospital, Deutschman said.

The hotel's manager said he was aware of the allegations, and that the bartender does not work at the hotel anymore. He would not say whether he was fired because of the accusations.

“Based on the initial allegations, without seeing the lawsuit, the initial allegations we deny completely,” said Richard Brink. “They are completely untrue and fabricated against the hotel.”

DuPage County court records indicate the bartender named in the suit is facing a misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge, which was handled by the Lisle police department.

The woman was at the hotel for a friend's wedding, Deutschman said.