A Tampa CVS customer says a security worker held her captive in the back of the store for hours, offering her freedom in exchange for sexual favors.
“Fear, I was terrified, I feel like he had violated me, even CVS allowed it,” says the wife and mother of four, who asked not to be identified.
The victim tells 10News WTSP that a CVS loss prevention officer posed as a police officer, then detained and propositioned her. She says she endured the very inappropriate interrogation inside the CVS store, 7351 West Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa, all over forgetting to pay for two nutrition bars.
The woman tells 10News that she's living in fear and wants CVS to pay.
“I was pretty terrified. I was in tears crying, oh my God I'll pay for it now,” says the victim. She says she paid for her items at the CVS checkout, but forgot two Power bars in her hand with her wallet and started to walk out. She got stopped at the door, accused of shoplifting.
“He flashed a badge in front of me and told me he was a police officer. $1.60! I'm like, ‘Let me go make this right.’ He’s like, ‘No.’”
She says the investigator, who she only knows as "Joey," led her to a back room where she claims the questions quickly crossed the line asking about her personal life and husband. “Did he beat me? Did he ever rape me? I was pretty terrified, at that point it just got worse from there. He asked me if had any sexual diseases, things that were completely not in reference to shoplifting,” says the woman.
Minutes, then an hour passed. She made an excuse to go to the bathroom and started texting family and friends for help, writing: “He has me in back and is saying he's not gonna arrest me if I go on a date with him.” “I’m scared mom.” “He picked me out because I'm a girl and he said I would go to jail if I didn't give him h---.”
The woman tells 10News, “If I performed oral sexual favors for him that was his thing. He wanted oral sex from me.” “I probably could've run, but that never crossed my mind. I really believed he was a police officer,” the woman says.
A deputy did come, but didn't charge her.
CVS banned her from the store and when she called to report it and says this was the company's response: “To comfort you, we’re going to send you some gift cards,” says the woman.
The victim says the worker, armed with her personal information, has since called her twice breathing heavily and hanging up.
“That's wrong, not tolerable,” says attorney Barry Cohen. The high-profile attorney is taking on the case, now suing CVS for more than $1 million for false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent supervision, and vicarious liability. “What it takes is a substantial judgment against CVS, and that will deter them from doing this kind of thing in the future,” says Cohen.
“He could do it to someone else,” warns the victim. 10News has learned that the that loss prevention officer still works at the CVS store.
CVS says in a statement:
“CVS Health is committed to ensuring that all customers are treated with respect and dignity. We require our colleagues to respect the rights of any person suspected of shoplifting or other crimes committed within our stores. Any unreasonable detention of a shoplifting suspect is strictly prohibited, as is harassment of any kind.
Following a suspected shoplifting incident at one of our Tampa stores last month, the suspect was detained in the store for under two hours while waiting for police to arrive. The suspect admitted to the shoplifting attempt, and the decision was made by store management to not press charges, but instead to bar her from the store.
We fully investigated the suspect’s subsequent allegations about the behavior of the market investigator who detained her. Based on our investigation, including video footage of their interactions, we believe those allegations are unsubstantiated.”
