Portland police are investigating a report that an employee of a Portland strip club was sexually assaulted last weekend.
Lt. Robert Martin said the alleged assault happened May 24 at PT’s Showclub on Riverside Street and that it was reported the next day. He said he could not comment further on an ongoing investigation or say whether the club was cooperating.
A woman shared on Facebook a detailed and graphic account of a sexual assault that she said occurred while she was working as a dancer at the club. The post had generated more than 1,000 comments and shares as of Thursday evening. The woman declined an interview request sent through Facebook on Thursday.
The Portland Press Herald does not name the alleged victims of sex crimes without their consent.
At PT’s Showclub, a man who identified himself on the phone as the director said he could not comment without the approval of the corporate office. He would not give his name. PT’s Showclub is part of a chain that operates strip clubs in six states.
“I’m sure I would like the opportunity for us to clear the air, but we can’t comment right now,” the man said.
Despite an overall decline of crimes in Maine, the number of rapes reported to law enforcement reached the highest point in recent memory in 2017, the most recent year for which data is available.
There were 448 reported rapes in Maine in 2017, up from 383 the year before – a 17 percent increase. Nine of those reports were attempted rapes. The annual crime report does not indicate how many of those reports involved allegations that date to before 2017. The figure is the state’s highest single-year total for rapes since at least 1994, the earliest year for which data is readily available, and the first time the figure surpassed 400.
When that data came out last year, advocates said more victims may be empowered to report because of the #MeToo movement and the ongoing national conversation about sexual harassment and sexual assault. But they cautioned that sexual assault has historically been underreported.
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