I have to say that Starbucks deserves to be raked over hot coals for this incident.

Kati Moore filed a lawsuit against Starbucks in 2007 because of the company’s failure to act when she told her manager about the abuse she was going through.  She is rightfully suing for monetary damages due to Starbucks’ failure to comply with the law when her superiors in the company obtained knowledge of sexual assault between a minor and an adult, as well as a worker and a boss.

At the young age of 16, Kati was introduced to the workforce with her first job as a barista at a Starbucks in Orange County, CA.  She was quickly taken advantage of by her then-24-year-old, Shift Supervisor, Tim Horton.  Horton coerced Kati into a sexually abusive relationship.  As the situation worsened, Kati bravely sought help by disclosing the abuse to her assistant store manager.

This gets even worse.

When the company got word that Kati’s story–which has been public knowledge for years–would be aired on national television, Starbucks issued several company-wide memos that reeked of lies and deception.  The most disgusting assertion the company made was that what happened was a “consensual relationship.”  This statement is not only false in more ways than one, but de-criminalizes the actions of Tim Horton and re-victimizes the experience of Kati Moore and others that have experienced sexual abuse.