Mar 6, 2008 11:58 pm US/Pacific
Safety Concerns In SF Hotels After Sex Assault
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
Are tourists safe when they stay in San Francisco's downtown hotels? Usually, they are. But a CBS 5 Investigation found the alleged sexual assault of a hotel guest early Sunday morning raises some security questions.
Police arrived early Sunday morning at the Clift hotel to arrest a hotel employee. The charge: Breaking into a female guest's room overnight, and sexually assaulting her.
"She stated that an individual came into her room and he used a key, a pass key," said Sergeant Neville Gittens of the San Francisco Police Department.
30-year-old Christian Rojas worked in the hotel's housekeeping department. Police say hotel staff identified him through his key.
"The hotel has one of those systems where when a key is used, it tracks who used the key to gain access to the room," Sgt. Gittens explained.
The case is shocking and Sgt. Gittens said, highly unusual. In fact he says reports of crimes in general in San Francisco hotels are low. But does that mean they're not happening?
CBS 5 Investigates asked private investigator Jared Callahan. "Most certainly not," Callahan said. "It does not mean that it's not happening."
For instance, police department data showed five hotel room burglaries occurred at the Clift Hotel over the past two years. And on a new crime tracking website called "
Everyblock" which analyzes police department data, 30 burglaries occurred in hotel rooms citywide, including six instances where someone forced their way in.
And Callahan says when it comes to background checks for hotel employees.
"It's really a 50-50 shot. You don't really know," Callahan said when it comes to background checks for hotel employees. "Even in four and five star hotels. The larger hotels you might guess would, but guessing is obviously dangerous. So it's really difficult to tell who does and who doesn't."
Callahan said hotels who don't spend the time and money to look may be running a risk.
"If you don't check somebody out and they go on to hurt a customer or co-worker, and its proven that they have a history of this, well that is what is called negligent hiring," he said.
It's not clear whether the Clift hotel checked Rojas', or any other employees' backgrounds. Morgans Hotel Group, which operates the hotel, would not answer questions because of the police investigation.
But CBS 5 has learned in 2000, Rojas plead no contest in Texas to assault for choking and injuring his wife. He received 9 months probation with deferred adjudication, which means he would not be considered to have a conviction.
But Callahan says hotels in general don't often discuss how they do background checks.
"It's a touchy issue, it really is," Callahan said. "It's bad business, its bad publicity."
Rojas meanwhile faces felony charges of burglary and sexual assault. He is set to be arraigned Friday morning.
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