Employee accused of assaulting woman at eatery

HOUSTON Houston police spent about five hours investigating the alleged sex assault inside the popular Italian restaurant Mia Bella on Lexington Street, and the man accused in the assault is an employee.

The alleged victim, a mother in her 20's, doesn't work at the restaurant, but was helping behind the bar on Saturday night when she says an employee attacked her. She went to the hospital on Sunday to do a rape kit.

On Monday, officers went to the restaurant to collect evidence as people were eating dinner.

"They were back in the back part of the restaurant, coming back and forth, cop cars coming back and forth," restaurant patron Orlando Smith said. "They were taking out bags. It started with one little bag, and ... when they finally left, they had big bags they were taking out from back there."

HPD says the man accused in the sex assault was working on Monday and was arrested because of outstanding traffic tickets he hadn't paid, not because of this case.

Eyewitness News went inside the restaurant to seek comment, but we were told the manager had gone home for the night. We left a contact number but we haven't heard back.