(CN) - A South Florida woman claims in court that her best friend's father, a promoter at a Miami strip club, took her to the club when she was still a minor, plied her with cocaine and alcohol, and encouraged her to perform sexually explicit dances for customers.
As recounted in a complaint filed in the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, plaintiff K.H. first met defendant Jose Arguelles, her friend's father, when she was 16 years old. At the time, Arguelles was employed as a promoter for the Pink Pony strip club, and was in charge of creating a "party" atmosphere that would bring in customers.
"In order to create a party atmosphere Arguelles would invite young ladies to the club as his guests," and in April 2014 , K.H. claims, two of those young women were herself and Arguelles own daughter.
According to the August 13 complaint, Arguelles advised her to lie to her mother, Irma Davalos, and to tell her that she would be spending the night with his daughter.
Once settled inside, K.H. says, Arguelles provided both teenagers with alcoholic beverages and cocaine. After that first night, the complaint says, Arguelles continued to take K.H. to the Pink Pony every Friday and Saturday night, from April 2014 through June 2015.
"On every single occasion during the weekend period, Pink Pony, through its agent, Arguelles, and managers, used the influence of alcohol and cocaine to have K.H. perform sexually explicit dances," the complaint says.
K.H. says all of the Pink Pony's staff and managers knew she was underage, but they nevertheless continued to coerce and lure her into working as a stripper by providing her with illegal drugs.
K.H. says that from June 2015 through August 8, 2015, Arguelles began taking her to Pink Pony 4 to 5 times week, and each time she inevitably danced on stage to entertain the customers.
She also claims that on several occasions she was battered by the owner of the strip club, defendant Michael Porter, in the VIP area where he touched her "throughout her body, including her breast, buttocks and pubic area" while dancing with her.
According to a report from CBS Miami, Pink Pony was closed last summer for about 45 days after investigators found evidence that minors were being provided drugs and alcohol in its establishment, and Arguelles was arrested after being accused of taking his minor daughter A.A. and her friend K.H to the club several times.
K.H. is seeking compensatory damages on claims of human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of a minor child and battery.
She is represented by Rick Yabor in Miami, Fla.
A phone call placed to the manager of the Pink Pony by Courthouse News, requesting comment on the lawsuit, was not returned.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines April 17, 2024 -
-
Contributor-Test-Post-2024-04-12 April 12, 2024 -
