Buying a pad during that time of the month can be an embarrassing experience for a teenager, but what happened to a Florida girl bordered on assault and battery, her attorney claims.
The unnamed 14-year-old girl is suing a Pembroke Pines CVS after she claims an employee of the store forced her into the bathroom and made her prove she was not shoplifting menstrual pads by showing the one she was wearing.
The alleged incident occurred on New Year's Day at the CVS located on 11100 Pines Boulevard.
The girl, who was visiting from Tampa with her mother, had gone to the store to buy some pads, the lawsuit read.
An employee named Lisa Conteh approached the teen and accused the girl of shoplifting and dragged her into the bathroom, the lawsuit claims.
While in the bathroom, Conteh allegedly interrogated the girl, but never identified herself as a CVS employee. The girl's mom was still in the store shopping and did not know what was going on.
Not satisfied with the teen's answers, Conteh allegedly didn't let the teen leave the bathroom unless she showed some proof.
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That's when the girl felt she had no choice but to take off the pad she was wearing and show it to Conteh to prove she had not just taken it, her attorney, Spencer Aronfeld said.
"While in the bathroom, the girl was humiliated," he said. "If they thought she was shoplifting, they should have alerted her mother after the teen left the bathroom.
Police were called to the store and issued the teen a warning and no shoplifting charges were filed.
"The teen suffered "greatly in her mind and body and will continue to suffer damage" from the incident, the lawsuit reads.
CVS officials said they have not received the lawsuit, which was filed in Miami-Dade court, and could not comment on the issue.
