Bar patron blacked out after being served ‘special drink,’ bartender charged with sex assault: police

A bartender at a downtown Toronto hotel has been charged after he allegedly served a patron a stupefying beverage he called his “special drink” and then sexually assaulted the person, Toronto police said.

Investigators say the alleged victim was staying at a downtown hotel and went to the establishment’s bar at around 6 p.m. on October 14, 2023.

The accused, who was employed as the hotel bar’s bartender at the time, began serving the person drinks.

Police say at one point the accused mixed a drink for the patron and said, “this is my special drink.”

“The victim blacked out after consuming the drink,” police said in a release. Investigators allege the bartender sexual assaulted the patron while they were blacked out.

On Wednesday, June 12, 2024, Manish Patil, 35, of Waterloo, was arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault.

Investigators say the accused may have worked at other hotels in the downtown core.