Photo by Yostinator
The Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration’s investigative report into an alleged sexual assault at the jazz club Bohemian Caverns and the adjoining restaurant Tap & Parlour last weekend describes a very disturbing scene that allegedly played out after the venue closed on Saturday morning.
After the sexual assault complaint was filed Saturday, the Metropolitan Police Department ordered Bohemian Caverns and Tap & Parlour to close for at least 96 hours and suspended the businesses’ liquor license. But ABRA’s review of the situation is still not completed, and a hearing later today will determine whether the popular nightspot at U and 11th streets NW will be able to remain open.
According to the ABRA report, the complainant and a group of friends were let into Tap & Parlour about 3 a.m. Saturday, after the restaurant closed for the night. The complainant told investigators that they were invited by the bar’s manager, who took them to the jazz club on the lower level for a nightcap. After drinking one beer, the complainant told authorities that she went back upstairs to the bar and went to sleep, and woke up a short while later to find a suspect having sexual intercourse with her without her consent, according to the ABRA file.
The complainant and her friends left the establishment about 4 a.m., at which point she called MPD.
As for Bohemian Caverns and Tap & Parlour, owner Omaro Brown suspended the employees who were involved in the incident, but the businesses have been closed since Saturday night and could stay that way for a while longer. Though the jazz club and bar could get their license back at today’s hearing, there are other faults mentioned on the ABRA report. Brown does not have a security plan on file with ABRA, and investigators found that the deadbolt mechanism on the door was not properly secured.
