Security and the law: No Background Check for Guard Becomes Key in Lawsuit
In a recent case in the state of Illinois, a woman who was sexually assaulted filed a lawsuit against the security service that employed the rapist and the apartment building manager that engaged the service. She claimed, among other things, that the failure of the security service company to perform a background check had proximately caused the attack on her.
The lower court granted a summary judgment in favor of the security guard company and the plaintiff appealed. The victim had been a house guest of apartment house tenants. In fact, she had been assisted by the rapist earlier on the day of the attack, in his capacity as a security guard.