A hostess at the Standard Hotel’s rooftop hotspot, Le Bain, is suing a hulking computer geek who she says kicked her in the crotch in a bizarre, booze-fueled attack last fall.
Rachel Mosley, 27, who is just 4-feet 11-inches tall and 105 pounds, was working her shift on Oct. 15 at around 1:30 a.m. when Benjamin Brittain — who is 6-foot-6 — lunged at her, according to her Manhattan Supreme Court suit.
“I was having a regular good night. It was busy,” Mosley recalled. “I was walking to my work station and that is when I was attacked.”
Brittain, who has an engineering degree from Columbia University and works as a tech intern, looks more like a tall Steve Urkel than a linebacker.
Nevertheless, Mosley’s Manhattan Supreme Court suit claims he “approached her and savagely grabbed her and kneed and kicked her in the vagina multiple times causing her severe and significant injury.
“Once the police apprehended Mr. Brittain, he admitted to this dastardly act, but blamed it on the fact that he was intoxicated,” the suit says.
Brittain was arrested and charged with assault and harassment, according to court papers.
He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in February, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said. He was sentenced to four days of community service and permanently ordered to stay away from Mosley. But Mosley believes Brittain should have faced a harsher punishment.
“Only four days? When I got the call I was shocked and angry,” she said. “I feel like the justice system failed me.”
Mosley’s attorney, Jordan Merson, said his client wants answers from the civil suit.
“Why a very large man would do this to a smaller woman, who is less than five feet tall, who was merely working hard late at night is a question that will have to be answered by Mr. Brittain,” Merson said.
Besides physical injuries including bulging discs in her back and numbness in her groin, Mosley has “paralyzing nightmares and flashbacks” about the terrifying incident, the suit says. She is suing for unspecified damages.
An attorney for Brittain declined to comment.
Mosley alerted security when Brittain tried to flee down a staircase after assaulting her, she said. Le Bain has footage of Birttain kicking her, she said. She’s been too afraid and depressed to return to the club, where she worked for over two years.
“I recently started having panic attacks and I’m getting help for it,” Mosley said. “It’s been difficult and I’m going to therapy three times a week to get help.”
Original story found here.
