NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Texas man has filed a lawsuit against the Hilton Nashville downtown hotel after he claims he woke up in his hotel room while being sexually assaulted.

Pete Brennan said his attacker was a hotel employee.

“Sort of a typical work trip,” he said.

Brennan lives in Texas, but like many others, he came to Nashville for a business meeting. However, his trip took a turn when he said a man entered his hotel room at around 5 a.m.

“I awoke to a gentleman who had snuck into my room somehow and was sexually assaulting me,” explained Brennan. “It was actually the Hilton manager [who] was the attacker.”

The lawsuit claims the attacker used a cloned hotel key to gain access, then used the key to enter without knocking or announcing himself. Then, according to Brennan, the employee started performing sexual acts on his feet.

“All my life you just have that sense of security, and that sense of peace, right? It’s not like you’re camping and you have to kind of keep one eye open. You have that security that’s yours, and when you close your eyes, you feel like you’re safe and you’re protected and it was a complete violation,” Brennan said. “I was just so, so shocked. It was, who are you? Why are you in my room? It was almost like a dream, a sort of nightmare. It just didn’t make sense. Why is this person touching me?”

Brennan explained at the time he was so shocked he yelled, and then immediately went to talk to hotel security, even filing a complaint with the Metro Nashville Police Department.

On Wednesday, MNPD confirmed the case is open, and they are following strong leads to get to the bottom of what happened.

However, Brennan said more shock came when he and his attorneys went digging into the accused night manager’s past, claiming he has a lengthy criminal history.

“Multiple charges of forgery, drinking and driving, a manslaughter conviction as well, which served prison time,” said Michael Fisher with Rocky McElhaney Law firm, who is one of the lawyers representing Brennan. “When Hilton hired this person, they had to have known. They have to do background checks to know, and the fact that they would put somebody like that in a position where they have the ability to clone keys, have the ability to get into a guest’s room.”

Brennan said now he is looking for justice, as he told News 2 he believes he did everything right and this should have never happened.

“The fact that this would occur, it’s just shocking to us. We haven’t seen a case like this,” said Fisher.

News 2 reached out to Hilton’s corporate office for comment and was told. A spokesperson replied, “The Hilton Nashville Downtown is an independently owned property and I cannot speak on the hotel’s behalf.”

News 2 was told their request for comment was forwarded to the property owners. The station also followed up with a phone call to hotel management, which went unanswered.

After this story aired, Hilton Downtown Nashville gave News 2 an official statement:

“The safety and security of our guests and team members is our highest priority. We are working closely with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, and, as part of company policy, we do not comment on ongoing investigations.”

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