Pregnant street vendor files civil rights lawsuit against woman after alleged attack

By Chelsea Hylton

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    California (KCAL/KCBS) — A pregnant street vendor who was allegedly attacked by a woman in Simi Valley has filed a civil rights lawsuit, claiming the incident was a hate crime.

The attorneys for Mary B. announced the lawsuit Friday morning at a news conference, asking the FBI and the Ventura County district attorney to prosecute the incident as a hate crime.

Christian Contreras, who is representing Mary, claims she was subjected to a racist attack by a local woman on April 14 around 4 p.m.

Contreras said Mary was pushing her cart down the street when she was approached by a woman who began verbally abusing her and trying to get her off the street. He said the woman had seen Mary several times before and, on that day, got out of her house to confront her.

Cellphone and video footage from a nearby house caught the alleged attack on camera.

“Mary was just there, not trying to escalate and not trying to cause a scene, but this woman continued her attack and pushed Mary… the worst part about this case is that Mary is close to eight months pregnant,” Contreras said.

The attorneys claim Mary suffered bruising on her stomach after being pushed to the ground by the woman.

After the incident, a police report was filed with the Simi Valley Police Department, but Contreras alleges they are “disregarding the case as insignificant.” He is hoping they will take the case seriously and investigate it further.

Mary said the woman made comments to her, saying she needed to speak English and to leave the area.

In the videos, other cars are seen stopping to intervene in the incident, telling. A man could be heard telling the Simi Valley woman to back away from Mary and her cart.

Simi Valley police did respond to the scene and asked questions about the incident. A few hours after the incident, Mary took herself to the hospital to be checked. She was told she was fine but did have bruising from the incident.

“This woman needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and we are going to hold her accountable in the civil court,” Humberto Guizar said.

The Simi Valley Police Department arrested 56-year-old Julie Christine Sanchez for the confrontation. The case has been forwarded to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office for further review. Sanchez has been issued a summons to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on May 14, according to Simi Valley PD.

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