Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian Announces $1.25 Million Settlement in Stars Cabaret Case

Strip joint owners will pay for allowing 13-year-old to be raped and forced into prostitution at Beaverton location.

Brad Avakian (Peter Hiatt)
By Nigel Jaquiss

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries today announced the largest settlement for an individual in the agency's history—$1.25 million for a young woman forced to dance and work as a prostitute at Stars Cabaret in Beaverton beginning when she was 13.

The young woman was also repeatedly raped by a club manager named Steven Toth, who was subsequently convicted and sent to prison.

Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian filed complaints against Stars in 2015 on behalf of the young woman and another dancer who was 16 when employed at Stars. The strip club's owners filed for bankruptcy in October 2016.

The settlement agreement announced today calls for Stars' insurer to pay $1,000,000 and for the owners to pay $250,000. BOLI expects to settle the complaint on behalf of the second young woman by Labor Day.

"Our agency is dedicated to protecting the civil rights of all Oregonians," said Avakian in a statement. "Today's settlement follows an aggressive effort spanning thousands of hours of investigation and prosecution to ensure justice for this aggrieved person. It also sends a strong message that the most vulnerable among us will still receive the same protections and access to justice as everyone else."

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