Nebraska Furniture Mart Sued Over Alleged Connection to Illegal Immigrant Attack
by John Gage
A family is suing Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM), alleging negligence after one of their children was raped by an illegal immigrant during carpet installation by a third-party contractor. The action follows Enrique L. Martinez — a former employee of the carpet installer company — pleading guilty earlier this year to two counts of statutory sodomy against a child.
The lawsuit filed by a Missouri family alleges that NFM was involved in deceptive business practices that led to the assault. The lawsuit states that the family believed NFM, not a third-party contractor, would install the carpet they purchased from the company, as well as alleging that NFM should have done more to conduct a thorough background check on Martinez to know whether he was legally authorized to work in the U.S.
Martinez raped a 7-year-old girl during the time he helped install the carpet purchased from NFM.
“Boiling it down to its simplest form, what we have here are customers who went to NFM to purchase carpeting for their home that them and their family could enjoy for many years to come,” Christopher Accurso, the attorney for the family, told the Kansas City Star. “And what they got was a lifetime of trauma and heartache and bad memories based off of this.”
Accurso said NFM advertised that it had its own carpet installation team and did not indicate they would be giving the job to a third-party company. “NFM advertises that it has its own installation team,” he said. “There was never the slightest indication from NFM at any point that this was going to be a third-party entity, or that the work was being subcontracted out.”
In a statement, NFM denied the accusations in the lawsuit.
“Our hearts go out to the victim and their family. We share the sadness and shock at the details that resulted in the conviction of a third-party contractor’s helper,” an NFM spokesperson said. “The allegations made against NFM are not true. Out of respect for the privacy of those involved and because this is an ongoing legal matter, we cannot share any additional information.”
John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.