Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
We reported last week that, Luiz Scavone, a 20-year-old Brazilian citizen, was arrested during a cruise on Allure of the Seas.
On Friday, Broward Circuit Judge Matthew Destry ordered 20-year-old Luiz Scavone to be held without bail Friday. Judge Destry motivated his decision by the belief that, if released on bail, Scavone could easily flee the country: “This is South Florida. Let’s face it: If you want to get on a boat and leave for South America, that can happen, with or without a passport. It’s not difficult to do.” Prosecutors argued in favor of Scavone to be held without bail because of his brazilian citizenship.
Brazil has recently passed an amendment to its constitution making it illegal for a Brazilian citizen to be extradited from Brazil to a foreign country to face criminal charges. In other words, should Scavone leave the country and enter Brazil, The United States would never be able to prosecute the 20-year-old for his alleged criminal acts.
The victim, a 15-year-old teenage girl from Iowa, reported the sexual assault immediately to the cruise ship employees. She claims that another 15-year-old male lured her into a private cabin under false pretenses. Luiz Scavone was waiting for them in the cabin. The minor victim refused the two men’s sexual advances, and they proceeded with ripping her clothes off and took turn raping her.
We have recently learned that the minor who lured the victim to a private cabin is Luiz Scavone’s 15-year-old brother. The alleged minor assailant who is being held as a juvenile faces criminal charges, though not as serious as his big brother. Luiz Scavone is charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a victim younger than 16 and older than 12. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
You can read our reports here:
Cruise Ship Passenger Raped Aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas
Alleged Cruise Ship Rapist Asks Judge to be Released
The attorney for the two alleged assailants, their uncle, has declared last week that the victim consented to the sexual encounter and that she was not forced to do anything. Luiz Scavone has pled not guilty.
Crimes of a sexual nature occur on cruise ships more often than we think. Leesfield & Partners represents victims of sexual crimes that occur on cruise ships. We recently reached a settlement in a sexual assault case of a cruise passenger raped by a crew member.
You can read more about that case here: Raped Canadian Cruise Passenger Reaches Multi-Million Dollar Settlement
You can also read about a sexual assault case resolved by our Key West Inadequate Security Attorneys here: Thomas Scolaro obtains $1,045,000 settlement for young woman raped at hotel in Key West
