A woman who was sexually assaulted last August while cleaning an Airbnb in Fort Lauderdale has filed a lawsuit against the company and the property owner — and is still waiting to see the unidentified perpetrator arrested seven months later.
The woman, who is identified in the lawsuit filed in Broward County on Wednesday only as Jane Doe, was cleaning the Airbnb at 509 SE 19th Street on Aug. 28, 2024, according to the complaint. One group of guests had just checked out and she was preparing the place for the next arrival, her attorney Kim Wald told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The complaint said “an intruder broke into the house and violently assaulted and raped Jane Doe” as she was doing her job with a cleaning company.
Fort Lauderdale Police said in a statement Wednesday that the woman was listening to music and cleaning when the man came up behind her.
The unidentified man threw her onto the ground, pulled out a knife and zip tied the woman to restrain her, the police department said. She was restrained “and suffering from visible injuries” when officers arrived about 2 p.m. She was taken as a trauma alert to Broward Health Medical Center.
The age, height and weight of the man aren’t known, the police department said, only his race, hair length and the color of the clothes he was wearing at the time. No one has been arrested, and the investigation is still ongoing.
“That is another one of the reasons that our client was brave enough to come forward — to see if there is anybody out there that has information that can help her,” Wald said. “She doesn’t want to see any other guest or traveler or worker like herself being put in this type of situation.”
Wald said there were two previous issues at the same Airbnb prior to the assault of her client, one of them happening just a week earlier.
One month before the sexual assault, a customer reported their laptop was stolen while they were staying at the short-term rental. Then on Aug. 21, 2024, “an unknown man broke in through a window and locked himself inside the unit after being found by guests lying in their bed,” according to the complaint. There was also at least one complaint on the Airbnb’s website “about the lack of safety at this subject property.”
Fort Lauderdale Police in their statement said the suspects in the two earlier crimes “have been ruled out as suspects” in the sexual assault case.
The owner of the property and operator of the Airbnb could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening. Court records and attorney information were not available.
“We take the safety of our community seriously. We are investigating the incident reported and have suspended the listing from the platform during that time,” an Airbnb spokesperson said in an email Wednesday night.
Authorities ask anyone with information about the sexual assault or identity of the suspect to contact Det. Sgt. Hector Martinez at 954-828-5510 or to anonymously contact Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.