By Erin Jones

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DALLAS (KTVT) — A North Texas teenager is suing a downtown Dallas nightclub and its owner, claiming their negligence led to her sexual assault in a restroom.

Charla Aldous of Aldous Walker LLP said the incident at Club VIVO changed her client's life forever.

“To say that the rape changed the course of my client's life would be an understatement,” she said. “She was an athlete with a full scholarship to a very good university. She dropped out.”

On December 3 last year, the 18-year-old local college student visited the downtown Dallas nightclub with two friends.

“What surprised me is that the club allows 18-year-old women to enter and serves a lot of alcohol, but men have to be 21,” Aldous said.

Aldous said staff drew an X on the teen's hands to indicate she was underage, but she was still served alcohol.

“So she was drunk,” Aldous said. “One of the guests grabbed her, dragged her up the stairs and raped her brutally… and I mean brutally… it would make you sick.”

Aldous said the teen texted her friend alerting security, but claims they did nothing. The friend called 911 and an ambulance took the teen to the hospital.

“What happened to her was so horrible and Club VIVO definitely staged it,” Aldous said.

Dallas police told CBS News Texas that their preliminary investigation revealed that an unknown male suspect sexually assaulted a victim inside the club. The investigation is ongoing.

“TABC has been notified by the Dallas Police Department of their ongoing investigation,” said Chris Porter, spokesman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

He said the club should have reported the alleged incident to the authority within 24 hours, but it never did, so it received a warning. As the regulator that oversees the alcohol trade, TABC also conducted its own investigation.

“TABC looked for evidence that the club knowingly permitted or facilitated such occurrences on the premises. However, our investigation found no evidence that this was the case,” Porter said.

The investigation may be reopened if additional information or evidence is found during the criminal investigation or civil action.

The teenager is suing the nightclub and its owner and hopes that they will be held accountable.

“It’s just awful and I want them to improve their behavior,” Aldous said.

CBS News Texas has reached out to the club and its owner for comment but has not received a response. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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