TOMS RIVER – As a sergeant with the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, Shannon Dugan has heard her share of harrowing stories during her time assigned to the courthouse. But nothing could have prepared her for the trauma she suffered herself. Now, a survivor of sexual assault, Dugan is transforming her experience into a powerful platform for change, advocating for safer environments in places where people should feel most secure.
Dugan’s ordeal began in April 2016 during a work trip to St. Louis, Missouri. She stayed at the Hyatt Regency, where a hotel security guard used a master key to enter her room and assault her as she slept. The man, David Allen White, instead of facing a criminal trial, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and burglary and is now a registered sex offender.
The incident left Dugan reeling, but the aftermath, the handling of the case by the hotel, and the discovery of negligent hiring practices by Hyatt would ultimately fuel her determination to seek justice.
“I came forward because something has to change,” Dugan said. “If I didn’t go to the police that day, he could have continued. People think they’re safe in hotels, but they’re not always.”
Holding Hyatt Accountable
Dugan agreed to an interview on the condition that she would not be requested to recount the traumatic details of her assault. Her healing journey has already suffered the perils of re-victimization of the event from the moment she reported the incident to hotel staff.
“When I went to them and told them that someone was in my room, they told me that I needed a subpoena for the things I asked for,” Dugan said. “I had to take myself to the police station in St. Louis, which is different than going to local police here because there’s so many precincts.”
Fortunately, Dugan was with a work colleague who’d attended the same work conference in St. Louis. Dugan said she had to tell her story at least eight times before she was finally referred to the special victims unit. A small smile crossed her face as she remembered that the unit was located on Olive Street – a detail that felt like a sign, as her grandmother’s middle name was Olive.
As the investigation unfolded, Dugan felt unsettled, prompting her to seek legal counsel as she began to suspect that something was wrong with the way that Hyatt was handling the assault. Her civil case against Hyatt was ultimately tried by the Kansas City-based law firm Davis, Bethune & Jones, LLC, with Scott S. Bethune serving as lead counsel on her behalf.
The trial lasted four days, which Dugan described as an incredibly difficult experience. However, there were two key positives to come from the proceedings. First, she did not have to face her assailant in the courtroom. Second, the jury of twelve listened carefully and ultimately delivered a verdict that validated her ordeal. They not only recognized the harm inflicted by White but also held the major corporation accountable for violating her right to safety and compounding her trauma afterward.
The verdict included $28 million in compensatory damages and $149 million in punitive damages. The court found Hyatt negligent in its hiring, training, and supervision of White, as well as in its handling of the aftermath of the assault.
Hyatt appealed the lower court’s verdict. However, in December 2024, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the $177 million jury verdict against Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The legal opinion issued by the Appellate Court provides more information concerning the court’s findings.
Pictured at a 2022 celebration of Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Celebration of Youth Academy graduates, Sgt. Shannon Dugan believes in the power of making positive changes. (Photo by Stephanie Faughnan)
The Assault
According to the case documents, Dugan was in St. Louis on April 17, 2016, to attend a seminar on death investigations. After attending classes on April 18, she and a co-worker went to a Cardinals baseball game, followed by a visit to a nearby brewery in Ballpark Village. Returning to the hotel around 11 p.m., Dugan went to her room, showered, and went to bed.
Later that evening, her co-worker, unable to find his phone, speculated she might have it. At 11:30 p.m., he knocked on her door and tried calling her but got no response. Concerned, he contacted Hyatt security to request a wellness check.
White is referred to by his initials in the court opinion as required by Missouri law, which states he was one of three on shift in the hotel’s security room when the wellness check was requested. Despite Hyatt’s policy requiring two guards to conduct such checks, White volunteered to go alone after another guard stepped out for a break. Using his master key, White attempted to enter but was stopped by the room’s interior night latch. He then called hotel engineering to disengage the latch, entered the room alone, and claimed Dugan was unresponsive.
At 12:51 a.m., White left his post again without notifying anyone. He returned alone to Dugan’s room, unlocked the door with his master key, and sexually assaulted her as she slept. Dugan awoke to find White on top of her with his hands between her legs. Startled, she couldn’t immediately process the assault before White fled the room.
Shaken, Dugan sent herself a text message to document the time of the incident. She contacted the hotel front desk the following day, inquiring if someone had been in her room overnight. She was informed of the earlier wellness check and transferred to White, who admitted to conducting the check but concealed his later return and the assault.
Learning The Truth
Dugan sought evidence of the assault, requesting access to the lock interrogation record, which would have shown key activity for her room. Hyatt’s security director refused to provide the record and told her she would need to obtain a subpoena. The hotel did not report the incident to the police despite its written policy requiring such action for crimes committed on its property.
Detectives who came to the hotel after Dugan made her report learned there was security footage showing White entering Dugan’s room at the time of the assault. However, Hyatt declined to share the footage or lock interrogation records with the police, citing the need for approval from its risk management department. The hotel also failed to inform police when White contacted Hyatt’s human resources department the following day, stating he was leaving town.
Court records revealed significant gaps in Hyatt’s hiring and supervision of White. In 2015, White applied for a security position with Hyatt, which contracted an outside firm to perform a background check limited to criminal convictions in the preceding seven years. No convictions were found. However, Hyatt’s written policy required a more extensive criminal history search with no limitations on time or exclusions for arrests.
Had such a search been done, Hyatt would have discovered that White was investigated for masturbating in public in 2001, investigated for making harassing phone calls to a 13-year-old girl in 2003, arrested for deviate sexual assault and sodomy in 2005, and also investigated that same year for sexual abuse and harassing phone calls to a mentally disabled woman that same year.
Despite these red flags, White was hired after a brief interview in the hotel lobby. Hyatt failed to verify his employment history or references, and no additional background checks were conducted after his initial hiring.
During the trial, Hyatt’s human resources manager admitted under oath that the company would not have hired White or provided him with a master key had it been aware of his prior allegations. Additionally, Hyatt’s security director testified that the hotel failed to train its staff adequately and acknowledged that the assault occurred due to multiple breaches of Hyatt’s policies.
Speaking on the decision of the Appeals Court to uphold the verdict, attorney Bethune offered his gratitude. “This decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals reaffirms the jury’s determination that Hyatt’s conduct was not only negligent but reprehensible,” he said. “This ruling sends a powerful message that corporations must prioritize guest safety over profit and ensure their policies are rigorously enforced. We are grateful that the court has upheld justice for Ms. Dugan and validated the significance of this case.”
The Court of Appeals has already denied Hyatt’s request to transfer to the Missouri Supreme Court. Hyatt’s attorney, Susan F. Robertson, did not return calls for comment on whether the hotel chain plans to submit an application directly to the Missouri Supreme Court of Appeals.
Dugan hasn’t received any money but feels the appeals court did something extraordinarily valuable in upholding the verdict. They believed what was done to her – and held Hyatt responsible for their actions – and inactions.
As part of her assignment to the Ocean County Court House, Sgt. Shannon Dugan has heard her share of harrowing stories and treats victims and defendants with respect. (Photo by Stephanie Faughnan)
Turning Pain Into Purpose
Despite the challenges, Dugan has channeled her experience into a mission to prevent similar incidents. She plans to use her platform to advocate for better safety measures in hotels and other public spaces. Dugan finds it quite disturbing that her assailant had carte blanche access to 900 rooms without a proper background check or adequate supervision.
“The irony of it is that the very person you’re trusting to keep safe is the very person who violated me,” Dugan shared.
Within a year after her own experience, Dugan was already out speaking at a Sexual Assault Awareness meeting to educate others on the importance of reporting their assaults.
“My only hope is that sharing something so personal,” said Dugan. “If just one person speaks out that something happened to them or tries to go forward and not feel embarrassed, then sharing my story is worth it.”
Dugan also told other law enforcement officers about what happened to her as part of a class on resiliency. She found her colleagues to be accepting of her message.
“Police officers have a tough job, and rather than turning to alcohol or drugs to deal with stress,” said Dugan. “They want us to be resilient by doing different things.”
While Dugan admits she still has flashbacks and has a hard time dealing with what happened to her, she has turned her pain into a purpose.
“I just want to make a change. I just want women, first and foremost, to be confident and loving themselves enough to know that this is not right,” she said. “They shouldn’t have to worry about what other people are going to say or think, which is easier said than done. Any sort of violation like that is unacceptable, and at no point is it our fault.”
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