San Diego woman takes Dollar Tree to court after allegedly becoming victim of disgusting viral trend in the store

A woman who claimed to have been the victim of a viral trend that allegedly involved sexual assault at a Dollar Tree store is now suing the discount retailer. The woman, whose name has not been revealed, was apparently assaulted at a Dollar Tree located in Clairemont, San Diego.

The civil suit states that the woman, identified only as “Jane Doe,” was shopping in the Dollar Tree store in 2025 when a male customer allegedly wiped semen on her. “She kind of noticed the presence of somebody behind her and felt him wipe something on her. She realized it was semen,” Alreen Haeggquist, an attorney representing Jane Doe stated.

According to a report from NBC San Diego, this wasn’t the only time the man sexually assaulted someone. Over the course of a week, starting around March 1, 2025, the man allegedly assaulted three women at the same Dollar Tree store. 

The suspect was later identified by San Diego police as 22-year-old Noe Gonzalez Cresencio. He was subsequently arrested and charged with three counts of lewd acts and two counts of sexual battery. However, the most disturbing part was that Cresencio apparently wasn’t the only person engaging in these disgusting acts; in fact, it has allegedly become a viral trend that’s spreading across the nation.

The viral ‘gooning’ trend

According to NBC, the incidents, which are known as “gooning,” are taking place across the U.S., with five cases in San Diego County. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that detectives were investigating two other cases that occurred at different Dollar Tree stores in the county to determine whether they are connected to Cresencio’s case.

Meanwhile, in the suit against Dollar Tree from the Clairemont victim, there are claims that at least 11 women across the country have reported similar experiences at Dollar Tree stores. According to Haeggquist, videos of the incidents are taken and subsequently posted to porn sites and social media, indicating that this “gooning” has become a viral trend.

Haeggquist claims the phenomenon has become so well known online that “there’s a crypto coin for the ‘Dollar Tree Gooner.’ There is a Pokémon card for the ‘Dollar Tree Gooner’. There’s a soundtrack for this conduct.”

The suit states that Dollar Tree staff told Jane Doe the cameras were not working on the aisle where she was allegedly assaulted. Haeggquist claims that the lack of staff and security has allowed the discount stores to “become a breeding ground for these sexual assaults to occur.”

A statement from a Dollar Tree spokesperson stated that the company was “committed to having effective safety and security programs,” and that “The safety and security of our associates and customers are our highest priorities.”