A married cruise ship passenger claims she was forced to have an abortion after a bartender on her Margaritaville at Sea cruise ship snuck into her cabin and raped her.
The West Virginia woman, identified only as Jane Doe, filed a federal lawsuit against the Classica cruise line after bartender Hoobesh Kumar Dookhy pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her cabin mate on the same night last May.
He was initially classified as a witness to the attack, but decided to file a lawsuit after Dookhy’s conviction, his attorney, Spencer Aronfeld, told the Palm Beach Post.
After the alleged rape, Doe “became pregnant, and had to terminate the pregnancy which left her with serious complications,” according to the lawsuit obtained by The Post.
Doe and his traveling companion, known as “HB,” were sailing in the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise from Riviera Beach, Florida, to the Bahamas on May 5 when they purchased alcoholic beverages, the lawsuit said.
A West Virginia woman claims a bartender aboard the Margaritaville at Sea cruise ship raped and impregnated her after sneaking into her cabin in the middle of the night. Margaritaville at Sea
“They both charged drinks to their cabin numbers, thereby providing crew members operating the bar access to their shared cabin numbers and room keys,” the filing said.
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After finishing their drinks, the women returned to their cabin, which Dookhy allegedly entered in the middle of the night.
Doe told the FBI she awoke to find Dookhy fondling her face and sexually assaulting her, the Palm Beach Post reported.
She said she asked him to leave, but he moved to HB’s bed and attacked her as well.
Doe reported it to ship security the next day, according to the outlet.
Officers found a key to the ladies’ room in Dookhy’s jacket pocket and a picture of the bartender next to HB naked and sleeping on his cell phone, the Palm Beach newspaper reported.
Dookhy later claimed that his meeting with HB was consensual.
He initially faced the possibility of life in prison on sexual abuse charges. However, the most serious charges were dropped in a deal in which he pleaded guilty in November to one count of sexual assault.
Dookhy now faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 at a sentencing hearing next Thursday.
The woman filed a federal lawsuit after the bartender pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her cabin mate. Margaritaville at Sea
US District Judge Robin Rosenberg has rejected HB’s own request for punitive damages against Classica, but he continues to seek compensatory damages, according to the outlet.
Aronfeld said the judge’s decision does not bar Doe from seeking punitive damages and called the two suits “very different.”
She claims to have “suffered physical, emotional and psychological pain,” as well as “shame, humiliation, ongoing mental suffering” and “exacerbation and activation of existing conditions, and ongoing disability and inability to lead a normal life.”
The woman is demanding a jury trial and $75,000 in damages. GREG LOVETT/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK
Aronfeld said her client did not undergo a paternity test but said she plans to testify that she and her husband were not sexually active before or after the alleged rape, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Doe is demanding a jury trial and $75,000 in damages from Classica.
Classica and Margaritaville at Sea did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
