The case, filed in San Diego Superior Court as Doe v. Hostmark Investors LP et al. (Case No. 37-2023-00041057-CU-PO-CTL), was brought by a woman identified in court filings as Jane Doe. The lawsuit alleges hotel operators failed to intervene despite warning signs surrounding the man who ultimately carried out the attack.
The alleged assailant, Darrian Perkins, was prosecuted separately in a criminal case and ultimately convicted of multiple violent crimes related to the assault. A San Diego jury found him guilty of several counts including forcible rape, sodomy by force, forcible oral copulation, kidnapping, and robbery, as well as a separate rape involving another victim. The trial court sentenced Perkins to a determinate prison term followed by 140 years to life, a judgment largely upheld by the California Court of Appeal.
According to the appellate court record in People v. Perkins, the attack began during the early morning hours of May 9, 2021. The victim had been socializing with friends at a nearby bar when Perkins invited the group to continue hanging out in his hotel room across the street.
The group spent roughly an hour in the room drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, and listening to music. When the gathering broke up and the victim attempted to leave, she later testified that Perkins took her cell phone and forcibly prevented her from exiting the room.
Court records state that for approximately four hours, Perkins physically and sexually assaulted the victim while repeatedly threatening to kill her. During the attack, the victim testified that Perkins told her he had a gun in his car and choked her multiple times while continuing the assaults. Prosecutors said Perkins also took the victim’s identification card, credit cards, and cash from her purse during the ordeal.
According to testimony cited in the appellate opinion, the violence continued through the early morning hours. Around 7:30am, Perkins forced the victim to accompany him out of the hotel room and down the hallway toward the parking garage because he wanted to purchase more beer.
Court records state that the victim was forced to walk at least 104 feet through the hotel and into Perkins’ car before he drove several blocks to a convenience store. The victim testified that she did not attempt to escape during the trip because Perkins had threatened to kill her and claimed he possessed a firearm. While Perkins entered the convenience store to buy beer and sunglasses intended to conceal the victim’s visible injuries, the victim waited outside.
Afterward, Perkins drove her back to the Lafayette Hotel and brought her back into the room using a stairwell rather than the lobby. According to court records, the assaults continued inside the room for another three to four hours.
The appellate opinion describes severe injuries suffered by the victim, including a fractured nose, four cracked teeth, mouth lacerations, extensive bruising across her face and body, swelling in multiple areas, cigarette burns on her back, and abrasions to her knees and other parts of her body. Medical testing later found strong DNA evidence linking Perkins to the attack.
The ordeal ended later that morning when Perkins drove the victim to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. While waiting in a drive-through line, Perkins reportedly gave her money to buy pastries from a café next door. Once inside the café, the victim told an employee she had been kidnapped and asked the worker to call police. She then hid in the bathroom until officers arrived and arrested Perkins in the parking lot.
Perkins testified during his trial that the encounter involved consensual “rough sex” and claimed the victim had voluntarily accompanied him to the convenience store. The jury rejected that defense after reviewing surveillance footage and several cell-phone videos Perkins had recorded during the encounter.
While the criminal case focused on Perkins’ conduct, the civil lawsuit now moving toward trial centers on whether hotel operators bear any legal responsibility for the circumstances that allowed the attack to occur.
According to the complaint, Perkins had been staying at the Lafayette Hotel for several weeks prior to the incident. The lawsuit alleges that hotel employees had previously raised concerns about his behavior, including incidents in which at least one housekeeper reportedly felt uncomfortable entering his room alone. The complaint argues that hotel operators failed to respond adequately to those warning signs and did not implement appropriate security measures that could have prevented or interrupted the attack.
Several defendants are named in the civil lawsuit, including Hostmark Investors LP, North Park Yacht Club LLC, and related hospitality management entities. Hospitality entrepreneur Arsalun Tafazoli, whose company CH Projects (also known as Consortium Holdings) later redeveloped the property, is also listed among the defendants.
Public records show Consortium Holdings, under company North Park Yacht Club LLC, purchased the Lafayette Hotel in March 2021, roughly two months before the assault occurred. At the time of the purchase, however, the hotel was still operating under an existing management agreement with Chicago-based hospitality company Hostmark, which continued overseeing day-to-day hotel operations.
Statements previously provided by CH Projects indicate that the company was required to honor that management contract following the acquisition and had not yet assumed operational control of the property when the incident occurred. Which entity held responsibility for hotel security practices and guest management during that period is expected to be a central issue when the civil case proceeds to trial.
Originally built in 1946 as Imig Manor and later owned by hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, the Lafayette Hotel has long been one of San Diego’s most recognizable historic properties.
After acquiring the site in 2021, CH Projects closed the hotel in October 2022 and undertook a sweeping renovation reportedly costing more than $30 million. The property reopened in 2023 with redesigned guest rooms, restaurants, entertainment venues, and a restored pool area. The revitalized Lafayette Hotel has since received widespread attention, including recognition with a Michelin Key designation in 2025, honoring it as one of the most distinctive hotel stays in the United States.
The civil case remains active in San Diego Superior Court. Court records indicate a trial readiness conference is scheduled for August 14, 2026, with a jury trial currently set to begin August 28, 2026.
The Lafayette Hotel, Swim Club & Bungalows is located at 2223 El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood.
Originally published on March 4, 2026. Information first reported by Adam Racusin of ABC 10 News.
