According to court documents, Oscar De La Hoya is accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed against him and his brand Casa Mexico.
A female former employee of Casa Mexico alleges that De La Hoya sexually harassed and sexually assault her on two separate occasions. Casa Mexico, company executives Michael Gooch and Robert Crossan, DV Capital Partners and De La Hoya have been sued in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The woman's attorney said that she wants others to know that this behavior is unacceptable and that it doesn't matter who you are.
Casa Mexico organized a company event in Mexico to visit the distillery in March 2020. On the first night there, the former employee claims that De La Hoya knocked on her hotel room door. She said she saw De La Hoya with his pants down. He got into her bed after forcing his way into her room. The woman pushed him out of her bed and walked him back to his room.
The female former employee claims that she went to De La Hoya's room to wake him up after he failed to show up for a scheduled meeting to tour the distillery.
After returning to Los Angeles, the woman says she attended a company party at a restaurant where some people ended up at the home of De La Hoya. According to the filing, when De La Hoya was alone with the woman, he revealed and retrieved a sexual object from a stored collection in his house. The woman claims that De La Hoya inserted a sexual object into her.
Casa Mexico executives did nothing to discipline De La Hoya despite being told by the woman. She said that she was afraid of repercussions from the company if she spoke out.
The names of alleged victims of sexual violence are not disclosed by ESPN. The lawsuit was reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Casa Mexico has a partnership on its website with De La Hoya and Mario Lopez. In a statement, De La Hoya denied the allegations.
De La Hoya said in a statement that he was confident his legal team would resolve the case.
In addition to the claims of sexual harassment and sexual battery, the suit alleges gender discrimination, wrongful terminated and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Casa Mexico sued the female former employee and company founder for breach of fiduciary duty in December, a case that remains open.
A six-division champion and Olympic gold medalist, De La Hoya is 49. He was a popular boxer. De La Hoya, who was born in LA, retired after a loss to the Filipino fighter. He was supposed to return to the ring last year, but withdrew due to COVID-19, and now says he won't make a comeback.
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