Second woman files sex assault lawsuit against El Hefe in River North

CHICAGO - A second alleged sexual assault victim connected to the El Hefe bar in River North has filed a lawsuit.

A woman says she was drugged in the bar and then raped back in 2014. She came forward after seeing surveillance video from another lawsuit, which accused guards of doing nothing for a woman who was sexually assaulted.

Now, this second woman is encouraging others to come forward if they have had similar situations. The attorneys for the two women say they have been contacted by several more women. 

Liz Capra claims she was assaulted at El Hefe.

“I feel if I come forward publicly it will encourage others too,” said Capra.  

Capra says in October of 2014 she went to El Hefe to watch a Bears game with a couple of girlfriends. She only had one drink, things began to get blurry and her friends went to the bathroom. 

“When they came back I was gone,” said Capra. “All of my credit cards were stolen, my phone was stolen."

Medical tests proved she had been drugged and raped. Similarly, Capra says, to the incident made public last week. 

“I know it’s happened to other women and I can't sit back and live with myself knowing that I’m not doing anything to stop it,” said Capra. 

Now, both women are suing El Hefe for negligence, claiming the staff have somehow been involved or complicit in the alleged crimes. 

The video released last week shows the 22-year-old woman stumbling out of the bar's back door with the assistance of a man in bright red shoes. The attorney says that man sexually assaulted the woman in the alley while security guards were just feet away. 

A spokesperson for the owners of El Hefe called the allegations disturbing and said the bar is cooperating with Chicago police. 

“I’m not going to speculate on what it is because there are so many people involved, patrons, staff, witnesses that did or didn’t see something,” said Lissa Druss, El Hefe spokesperson. “With all those people involved, it's going to take some time to figure out what happened.” 

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The attorney says the bar's indoor surveillance cameras were not working from the October incident. 

Last week, a judge ruled the bar must preserve pictures, posts, emails, and staffing information from that night as police try to find the attacker.