Motel manager accused of exposing himself to teenager

A teenaged girl is suing a motel and its manager after the manager allegedly exposed himself to her while she was babysitting.

Justice Bales filed a lawsuit Nov. 15 in the Circuit Court of Cook County against MP Hospitality Inc. and Amrut Patel, citing battery, violations of the Gender Violence Act and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

According to the complaint, MP Hospitality Inc. operated the Star Inn at 2219 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet and Patel served as the inn's manager.

On June 4, 2012, Bales, who was 16 at the time, went to Star Inn to babysit for her aunt Crystal Hall, who lived there. She claims that on that day, Patel lured her into a back room and exposed himself to her, groped her and attempted to put his penis into her mouth.

According to the complaint, Patel later apologized for his actions, gave Bales $50 and asked her not to tell the police.

Bales is seeking damages in excess of $50,000. She is represented by Bradley A. Skafish and Jeffrey S. Deutschman of Deutschman & Associates PC.

Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2013L013106.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.