Woman sues Boys & Girls Club, says Henderson staff released her to abuser as child

A woman has filed a lawsuit against the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada, alleging that staff released her to a man who repeatedly sexually assaulted her when she was 9.

In a complaint filed Sunday, the woman, identified as “Jane Doe,” said the organization touted child safety as a top priority yet maintained an “open-door” policy allowing children to leave the clubhouse without parental approval.

In 2016, Boys & Girls Club staff allowed Dequincy Brass, then 33, to pick up the victim, according to the victim’s attorney, Shasta Brown.

The complaint alleges that Brass took the girl to various locations, where he raped her and threatened to kill her and harm her family if she told anyone.

The lawsuit said that Brass was formerly a member of the child’s household, but the Boys & Girls Club had been notified that he was not permitted to pick her up.

The Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada did not respond to requests for comment.

The clubhouse that the girl, who is now an adult, attended is located at 1608 Moser Drive in Henderson.

Brown said the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada maintained lax safety and security policies, despite an obligation under state law to protect children in its programs from sexual assault and other harm.

“This failure enabled Brass to pick up JANE DOE on multiple occasions, and allowed him to groom, threaten, and repeatedly rape JANE DOE,” the attorney wrote in the lawsuit.

Court records indicate that Brass was arrested and charged with 20 felony counts, including child abuse, child sex assault, kidnapping, and lewdness in 2018. In 2020, Brass was convicted of child sex assault and sentenced to 115 years to life in prison.

But the Nevada Supreme Court reversed Brass’ conviction last year due to ineffective assistance of counsel and sent the case back to the trial court. In September, he entered an Alford plea to a charge of child abuse, neglect or endangerment, meaning he only admitted that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him, and was released from custody.

In February, Brown filed a separate lawsuit against the former owners of the Palms casino-hotel — Red Rock Resorts Inc., Station Casinos and PPII Holdings — alleging that they failed to intervene in sexual assault and sex trafficking that occurred on the property in 2016.

That complaint, also filed under the name “Jane Doe,” includes negligence claims, like the lawsuit against the Boys & Girls Club.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.