Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
Police are investigating rape allegations after an MSC Cruises passenger claims she was raped by multiple crew members on a recent voyage.
The woman, a 44-year-old from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, who was not named in the article, reported the incident to police on Dec. 7 when her ship returned to PortMiami. The woman alleges that while traveling alone for a week-long cruise she mistakenly mixed her anti-anxiety medication with alcohol and went to the ship’s buffet. The woman said she planned to take the food back with her to her cabin to eat before going to bed.
A waiter allegedly found her and took her plate to her room, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. Instead of leaving, the woman said the waiter lingered before raping her. The next day, the woman said what room she was staying in while speaking with a different crewmember.
“I just thought he was asking normal questions,” the woman told reporters.
Later on, she heard a knock at the door and opened it to reveal the second crew member. The woman alleges he then raped her.
Both incidents were reported to the ship’s security, but the woman said she was treated like a “criminal.”
“A serious allegation was made on board by a guest that involved two crew members,” MSC Cruises officials said in a statement to reporters. “We immediately contacted the relevant law enforcement authorities, while providing every assistance for the guest’s well-being, and have fully supported the investigation.”
The Miami-Dade Police Department is investigating the allegations.
Leesfield & Partners
For nearly five decades, Leesfield & Partners has expanded its expertise in resort torts litigation to represent clients injured in locations such as hotels, resort spas, and aboard cruise ships. During this time, the firm’s attorneys have earned a strong reputation as dedicated advocates for injured cruise passengers, specializing in areas such as premises liability, medical malpractice, and negligent security.
Sexual assault and rape cases aboard cruise ships are typically treated as strict vicarious liability cases. As common carriers, cruise lines have a non-delegable duty to ensure the safety of their passengers. This means that cruise lines are held to a higher standard of care and may be more readily liable when a passenger is harmed during a voyage.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, is handling a case involving video voyeurism aboard a cruise ship. In that case, a crew member was found to be planting hidden cameras in the private bathrooms of guests, filming them without their knowledge. Some of the guests in the footage reviewed by police were minors.
The crew member was recently sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for planting hidden cameras.
Our client, who was traveling with family at the time of the incident, recently told reporters the ordeal has left her with a “crushing, devastating, terrifying feeling.” The crew member in this case used his employee key card to gain access to the private rooms.
In the same interview, Mr. Pimentel told reporters that more needs to be done to ensure the safety of passengers.
“Terminating the employee is not enough,” Pimentel said. “That does not stop this from occurring in the future.”
A Canadian woman who was on a cruise ship for a wedding was previously represented by Leesfield & Partners after a crewmember raped her in her private cabin. The crew member used his employee status to enter the woman’s room.
A confidential settlement was secured for the woman in that case.
Cruise Crime Data
In data from the Department of Transportation, where cruise lines are required to report criminal activity that take place on their ships, it was revealed that crimes were down overall in the second fiscal quarter of 2024. Cruise lines reported eight assaults with serious bodily injury, 16 sexual assaults, 16 rapes and one missing person case in the first quarter, which runs from January to March.
Data from Q3, which runs from July through August, shows that there were six assaults with serious bodily injuries, one missing person, 20 sexual assaults and 18 rapes reported.
In data from 2023, there were 131 sex crimes reported to the FBI including 52 sexual assaults and 79 rapes happening on ships embarking and disembarking to and from the United States. In 2022, a year that did not differentiate between sexual assault and rape, there were a total of 87 alleged sex crimes. The data began differentiating between the two crimes in 2023.
If you or a loved one was injured on a cruise ship, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners Attorney today at 800-836-6400 or 305-854-4900 to see if you might be eligible for compensation.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault or rape, help can be found by calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
