IRVING, Texas — For Louis Williams, the memory of his daughter's vibrant enthusiasm for her job at an Amazon warehouse is now shrouded in pain and anger.
His intellectually disabled daughter, described by her father as a "perpetual eight-year-old," loved her job at the fulfillment center in Irving near DFW Airport. That job, which brought her joy, allegedly became the backdrop for a horrifying crime.
This week, Williams filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the tech giant of negligence after his daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted by a coworker in August 2023. Mario Carranza now faces a charge of sexual assault.
“This traumatic and heartbreaking assault and subsequent indifference by Amazon has forever altered my client’s life,” said the family’s attorney, Jennifer Spencer.
He said his daughter had mentioned Carranza and that he would frequently buy her snacks.
"He had been grooming her, obviously," Williams said. "But I thought he was just an old guy looking out for my special-needs daughter.”
He said he dropped his daughter off for work last August just like he always did. But on that day, he’d later learn that she didn’t clock into work. When he returned later that day, he said his daughter walking across the parking lot.
"All of a sudden, I see her walking, and I’m like, what is going on?" Williams recalled.
He said initially she clammed up and then she said she’d gone with Carranza to eat chicken. Williams said he texted Carranza to ask him where he’d taken his daughter.
“He said, ‘We just went and had lunch. Nothing happened,’” Williams said.
He said his daughter went on further and told him she’d gone to a hotel with Carranza.
“That really got me,” he said, his voice breaking.
According to an arrest warrant, Carranza took her to an Irving motel, where he rented a room and showed her pornographic videos before assaulting her. He then returned her to the warehouse.
Williams said the following morning, he called the police. He said an officer accompanied him to the warehouse to report the assault to Amazon’s HR officials.
"I talked to HR," Williams said. "They basically didn’t believe us. It’s egregious. You don’t treat people like this anywhere. They didn’t do anything.
He said he requested and received a three-week leave of absence for his daughter. As her leave was nearing its end, he says he drove by the warehouse and saw Carranza’s car in the parking lot on several occasions.
Detectives arrested Carranza on a sexual assault charge nearly a month later at the warehouse.
"The detective told me he had to threaten to break the glass door to get in," Williams said.
Amazon, in a statement, called the allegations "serious" and said they were in contact with authorities. The company said Carranza no longer worked for them.
The company also said that when law enforcement arrived to arrest Carranza, officials followed its processes and assisted police in apprehending him outside of the facility.
The ordeal has left the Williams family shattered. Once an independent and cheerful worker, their daughter now rarely leaves their sight.
"There was just a lot taken from her," Williams said. "She’s not the same kid she was."