The Hut Bartender Arrested on Charges of Sexual Assault

The alleged victim is an undergraduate Santa Clara student

A bartender of Santa Clara students’ go-to bar, The Hut, was arrested on Jan. 16 for an alleged sexual assault, according to an arrest log from the Santa Clara Police Department (SCPD). 

Santa Clara Police arrested Elias Juarez, 40, on charges of sexual penetration with a foreign object with the victim unaware of the nature of the act, and of letting “a minor consume liquor” as a licensed alcohol seller. The alleged victim is an undergraduate student of Santa Clara.

The establishment’s security camera recorded the bartender at the restaurant after closing time with three female individuals under 21 years of age, according to a student employee who was present at a workplace meeting concerning the incident on Jan. 19.

The Hut, located at 3200 The Alameda, not only attracts many student customers but also employs undergraduate students of the university. One, who chose to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, said she first heard about the alleged incident on the morning of Jan. 17.

“I saw on the social media app Flok that someone at The Hut had been arrested and I thought it was a joke,” they said. “So I texted in our group chat of coworkers asking what had happened or if something really did happen and one of my coworkers sadly responded yes, called me, and informed me of what had occurred.”

Flok is an anonymous social media app, created by a Santa Clara student, designed to serve college communities.

The bar-restaurant has remained open since the arrest.

“We did not close after the incident,” said the employee. “I believe that, the morning after, it was closed due to investigation, but later that afternoon it reopened.”

Since the incident, employees claim that the restaurant has seen a significant decrease in customers.

Campus Safety Services and the Office of Student Life sent students an email on Jan. 19 stating that the school is aware of incidences of alleged sexual violence off-campus, three days after Juarez’s arrest.

“The Santa Clara Police has made us aware that they are conducting investigations pertaining to date-rape drugs and sexual assault off campus.”

The University has not made any further announcements.

The Santa Clara reached out to the administration of The Hut for comment but did not receive a response.