42% of women surveyed have felt threatened by men inside or outside a bar or nightclub - Exclusive IE Survey  

To be broadcast Thursday, Sept. 17   

New York, NY - September 17, 2009 - In New York City, where thousands of women flock to the trendiest clubs every week, safety experts say many don't realize the risks they may face.  After a number of high profile murders and rapes associated with people who have frequented nightclubs and bars in NYC, INSIDE EDITION conducted a two month hidden camera investigation. 

For the report, Inside Edition exclusively obtained surveillance footage taken five months ago at Marquee, the ultra-trendy Manhattan nightclub.  It shows 39-year-old Luis Zambrano, accosting a young woman who had passed out on a couch.  She momentarily wakes up and tries to push him away, but he doesn't give up.  Then he drags her limp body off a couch and she falls to the floor.  Zambrano then picks her up and drags her down a flight of stairs and out of the club.  According to police, he kidnapped and raped her.  On September 9^th, Zambrano pleaded guilty to charges of attempted kidnap and attempted rape.

"Luis Zambrano is not unusual.  The fact that we have him on videotape is the unusual part," says Lisa Friel, the Chief of the Manhattan District Attorney's Sex Crimes Unit.  She says this shocking video captures the dangers young women can face during a night out at the clubs.  "Not a week goes by that we don't get one of these cases coming into the unit to investigate." she says.

When a female INSIDE EDITION researcher named Kim is shown leaving a nightclub alone acting a little tipsy, she is immediately approached by two men who repeatedly tried to entice her with cocaine and continuously urged her to go home with them.  When she declined, they tried to coax her into their car.  They repeatedly showed her the drugs

Kim: "I can't tell what it is."

Man: "Coke, do a little bit.  Guarantee it will be fun.  We'll go back to my apartment, it will be fun.  Come on, Kim, come on.  Let's go, Kimmy."

With the help of Steve Kardian, a personal safety expert and ex-police officer, Inside Edition's undercover cameras capture how easy young women will accept a drink from a total stranger at a club. In an hour, five women accepted drinks that could have easily been spiked with a date rape drug.

"It was very easy, too easy.  They had no idea what they were getting into, what they were drinking or what I gave them,"says Kardian.

For the report, Inside Edition surveyed more than 200 young women as they entered or exited NYC nightclubs.   The disturbing results will be posted on http://www.insideedition.com/

56% said they had consumed alcohol at a bar or nightclub to the point that they didn't remember parts of the evening.

45% said they know someone who believed they were drugged in a bar or club.

And 13% said they woke up somewhere after a night of drinking at a club and had no idea how they got there.

Photo caption: Inside Edition's Matt Meagher confronts Luis Zambrano, who has plead guilty to attempted kidnapping and attempted rape.

Check local listings for times.

INSIDE EDITION is produced daily at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and produced and distributed by CBS Television Distribution, a unit of CBS Corp.

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