SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A San Diego woman is suing Dollar Tree after a sexual assault incident called “gooning.”
According to the lawsuit, law enforcement agencies have seen an increase in cases like this across the country.
The Dollar Tree at the Diane Village Shopping Center in Clairemont is at the center of these allegedly repeated sexual assault incidents.
“This is an incredibly degrading and humiliating act to have done to you,” said Clemency Condry, an associate attorney with Haeggquist & Eck, the law firm representing Jane Doe.
According to the civil lawsuit detailing the incident, a man followed Jane Doe around the Dollar Tree on March 2, 2025.
“She did notice that he was following her a little bit from aisle to aisle, but not overly obviously. He was dressed fairly normally,” Condry said.
Condry said as the man passed her client in the stationery aisle, he looked unsuspecting, well-groomed and carrying a basket of items.
“He then walked behind her, positioned himself behind her, and then wiped something, touched her backside, like buttocks, lower back area,” she said.
That’s when Jane Doe confronted the man.
“He, I think, apologized after he bumped into her. She said, ‘Did you just wipe something on me?'” Condry explained.
The man apparently denied any wrongdoing and left the store.
“Later, she realized it was sticky and realized it was semen,” Condry said.
Jane Doe reported the incident to staff who took photos, but the store manager could not provide security camera footage because the cameras did not work.
“They’re not common, but we have seen cases like this before,” said Lieutenant Cesar Jimenez, the public information officer with the San Diego Police Department.
San Diego police confirmed officers arrested the suspect, 22-year-old Noe Gonzalez Cresencio.
“He was arrested for lewd and lascivious acts, two counts of that, and two counts of sexual battery,” Jimenez said.
The case is being handled by the city attorney’s office.
Through posts online, Jane Doe learned within a week that Gonzalez Cresencio allegedly assaulted two other women at the same store.
According to the lawsuit, sexual assault cases like this are trending nationwide as videos of these assaults circulate online, fueling a viral trend called “The Dollar Tree Gooner.”
“We saw it as an isolated, bizarre incident, but as I started doing a lot more digging, we realized it’s a phenomenon at this point,” Condry said.
According to the complaint, since 2024, at least 11 women have reported similar sexual assaults by men at Dollar Tree stores in several major cities.
In a statement, a Dollar Tree company spokesperson said:
“The safety and security of our associates and customers are our highest priorities. We take reports of inappropriate, unlawful, or harassing behavior in our stores extremely seriously. Any incident of this nature is unacceptable, and when we become aware of criminal activity, we cooperate fully with law enforcement and support their investigations.
Dollar Tree is committed to having effective safety and security programs. Through policies, training, and operational procedures, we work to maintain a safe and secure environment for associates, customers, and visitors. Our efforts include ongoing safety education, regular policy reviews, risk assessment and mitigation activities, investments in physical security measures, and collaboration with local law enforcement. We continuously evaluate and strengthen these programs as part of our commitment to the well-being and safety of everyone in our facilities.”
The complaint alleges chronic understaffing and absent or fake security cameras make its stores a “hunting ground for sexual predators.”
“Women were being targeted in their stores across the country,” Condry said.
Condry says that’s left lasting effects on her client.
“Normal daily errands [are] tricky for her because this is when this happened,” Condry said. She feels like she needs people to go with her to do these normal errands.”
They hope this case helps protect other shoppers.
“More than anything, our client and us, we don’t want this to happen to another woman,” Condry said.
The law firm encourages any other person with this experience to come forward.
The lawsuit also names the Diane Village Clairemont Mesa Shopping Center as a defendant in the case.
FOX 5/KUSI reached out to the shopping center’s attorney but did not hear back.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.