How three friends foiled a suspected date rape attempt
Monica Kenyon and her two friends, Sonia Ulrich and Marla Salzer, thought they would share a few drinks and laughs together at The Fig, an upscale restaurant in Santa Monica, California.
Instead, they ended up stopping what appears to be a plan to date rape a woman.
I just happened to look up and see a guy sitting at a table, looking right to left over each shoulder. I saw him drop something into the drink... And after he did that, he looked up and caught my eye.- Monica Kenyon
After recounting their story on Facebook — along with a photo captioned "Don't Roofie Someone On Our Watch" — many are hailing the trio as heroes.
On Tuesday, Michael Hsu, 24, was charged with felony administering a drug and felony assault with intent to comit a sex crime. Hsu has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Kenyon spoke with As it Happens host Carol Off from Santa Monica, California. Here is part of their conversation.
Carol Off: Monica, when did you realize something strange was happening at the next table?
Monica Kenyon: I just happened to look up and — directly in front of me — see a guy sitting at a table, both elbows up on the table and looking right to left over each shoulder. And to me, that was like, wow, I don't normally see people do that, unless they're trying to make sure no one was watching them.
CO: Was he alone?
MK: At the point he was. But I [knew] there was a woman sitting with him. And I guess she just stepped out for a minute.
CO: And then what did you see him do?
MK: I saw him drop something into the drink. And after he did that, he looked up and caught my eye. And that's when he took his right hand and picked up a glass — not the one that he had dropped something into but another glass — and took a drink out of it. And that's when I knew 100% that it was not his drink that he had put something into.
She was completely stunned. She said, 'He's one of my best friends.'- Monica Kenyon
CO: So what did you do when you saw this?
MK: I took a moment and was like, "Did that just happen? Yes. That just happened." That's when I had a look on my face that Sonia recognized, and was like, "What happened?" And I said, "He just dropped something in her drink." And Marla and Sonia and I put our heads together at the table and were like, "OK, what do we do?" It was never a question of should we do something, it's what are we going to do? We're like, "OK, we need to let the girl know." Sonia jumped up, went out to find her. I said we need to get that glass off of the table. Marla jumped up, went and told the server. And from there, the staff took care of the rest. The server told the manager, the manager called security. And 'cause we had told them so quickly that it happened, security was able to pull the footage right up.
CO: The CCTV camera that they were training on this restaurant?
MK: Yeah, apparently they had security cameras. Who knew?
CO: So Sonia went to tell the woman in the bathroom. What happened there?
MK: She was completely stunned. She said, "He's one of my best friends."
CO: And what happened when the woman returned to the table?
He took his wine glass and was clinking hers, as if to try to get her to drink it. And she never touched it... It was extremely tense.- Monica Kenyon
MK: She was amazing. I'm not sure how she did it, but she was able to stay at that table and complete their meal. And she never touched that drink. It was just the best case scenario.
CO: Did you have any sense that the man knew that the restaurant was on to him?
MK: I don't know what was going through his head. He took his wine glass and was clinking hers, as if to try to get her to drink it. And she never touched it. It was extremely tense.
CO: How long before police arrived?
MK: It was probably about 40 minutes. The staff was stalling the meal waiting for the police to get there, until everything was in perfect alignment. They then brought the cheque. The guy paid the bill. And the minute that that happened, the police walked up to the table and said, "Will you stand up and come with us?"
CO: Wow. And he did? He didn't look perplexed that he was being taken away?
MK: Nothing. Just stood up and went with them. Not a single question.
CO: So you've had a chance to reflect on that evening. What do you and Sonia and Marla think about it all?
MK: We're all extremely grateful that we were able to see it, and then say something. And that that's all we had to do. And then the staff at the Fig took action and did the rest.
For more on this story, take a listen to our full interview with Monica Kenyon.