"Developmentally disabled Amazon worker at Irving warehouse sues company over alleged sexual assault"

The father of a developmentally disabled Amazon warehouse employee who was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by a supervisor in Irving sued the company Wednesday, accusing Amazon of failing to protect his daughter from an employee who had a history of sexual harassment complaints.

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In August 2023, Louis Williams dropped his daughter off for work at an Amazon distribution warehouse in Irving — as he did always did — and watched her enter the building, he said. According to the lawsuit, Mario Carranza — described in the suit as a supervisor — waited until her father left and took Ashton Williams to get tacos, then to a nearby motel, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

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The father says he reported the incident to the Amazon's HR department the next day but was stonewalled. The suit alleges Amazon was negligent by failing to protect Ashton Williams from harm and failing to suspend Carranza in the days after Louis Williams formally reported him.

The suit also claims Amazon was uncooperative when Irving police arrived to arrest Carranza, leading an officer to threaten to “batter down the warehouse doors” before they allowed police to enter and arrest Carranza.

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Carranza, 72, was arrested and indicted a month after the incident on sexual assault charges, a second degree felony.

In a statement, Amazon confirmed it hadn't received any legal filings regarding the incident and maintained that Carranza was an hourly employee, not a supervisor. The company said it helped police identify Carranza and arrest him outside of the facility.

A spokesperson also said Carranza hasn't worked for Amazon in more than a year.

“The allegations relating to this issue are serious and we’ve been in touch with the relevant authorities regarding them," said the spokesperson, Sam Stephenson.

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