Allegation of aboard a Seabourn ship by Assistant Cruise Director

[cruisr]

On 5/7/2020 at 7:25 PM, yeah!!! said:

Since there are some posts in this thread stating authorities would have been brought in, or the assailant would be removed from the vessel, or that cameras would assist in the investigation, I included some sections of the the complaint filed in UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON  (You can certainly go online and obtain the entire compliant.  It is 56 pages in length.  I added the bold and underscoring to the text below.

 

 

 - the assailant continued to work, interact with passengers, and freely walk through the vessel for a day and half after the incident was reported.

 - the head of the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy (Myanmar) advised Plaintiff that the Vessel’s Head of Security, “Alex,” had told the head of the Consular Section that the Vessel was ill equipped with CCTV cameras compared to any other cruise ship he worked on and that, if the Vessel had better CCTV cameras, they would have been able to
obtain vital video evidence leading up to Assailant’s sexual assault and rape of Plaintiff. Plaintiff
was further advised that Assailant would be allowed to disembark the Vessel despite the sexual
assault and rape he committed. 

Pursuant to the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (“CVSSA”), 46 U.S.C. § 3501
et seq., SEABOURN &/or HOLLAND AMERICA are required to report all incidents of crimes,
including “sexual assaults” onboard their cruise ships to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”).
The reported incidents are then collated into chart form (known as a “Cruise Line Incident Report”)
and published on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s website and are available at:
https://www.transportation.gov/mission/safety/cruise-line-incident-report-1-apr-30-jun-2019.
3.42

 

As indicated above, the sexual assault and rape of Plaintiff occurred on or about
March 28, 2019 onboard the Vessel. However, the Cruise Incident Reports from January 1, 2019
through June 30, 2019 reveal that SEABOURN &/or HOLLAND AMERICA failed to report this
incident of sexual assault and rape to the FBI as required by the CVSSA. Copies of the Cruise Line
Incident Reports for the relevant time period are attached as composite

I am very confused now.  The OP’s attachment said the plaintiff went to the ship’s Medical Officer.  If this is true there has to be a report about it.  What are the consequences if a cruiseline fails to report something like this?  

[DUHCAR]

We were on at the time this alleged incident occurred and know of both parties.

There definitely was an incident at the time as there was a security officer stationed outside the plaintiff's cabin for several days with no one allowed in.  Then the plaintiff was off the ship and all his scheduled events such as hosted dinners were cancelled.

It was also strange that someone would come on board as an asst CD and who was seemingly unfamiliar with Seabourn's ways and then suddenly be promoted to CD on another ship and leave the ship mid-cruise.  They had to scramble to replace him.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

19 hours ago, sfvoyage said:

According to my friends who were on the Sojourn at end of March, CD Ross was assisted by 2 ACDs, one of whom left the ship on April 2nd in Rangoon.  (Ross had announced on April 1st that this person had been promoted to CD and was moving to another ship.)

 

The date and place of departure details were also mentioned in the lawsuit PDF provided in the article link at the top of this thread; other details also correspond to information that can easily be gathered on social media about this person - that he's from Southern California and had worked on Paul Gauguin and Radisson Seven Seas, etc.

 

Hmm, then I might remember him, having first sailed on the PG in 2000, which was also our first Radisson cruise.  

 

16 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Was the ACD older.   Radisson  has been gone for many years, unless that is the parent company for Regent.   On Seabourn I also saw the ACDs as being on the younger side not that the CD is old.

 

No, Radisson is not the parent. The name was changed when the line was sold years ago.

[cruisr]

I just read the whole 56 pages.  It is pretty shocking there is no incident report submitted to the authorities.

[sfvoyage]

4 hours ago, DUHCAR said:

We were on at the time this alleged incident occurred and know of both parties.

There definitely was an incident at the time as there was a security officer stationed outside the plaintiff's cabin for several days with no one allowed in.  Then the plaintiff was off the ship and all his scheduled events such as hosted dinners were cancelled.

 

Did you mean "defendant" instead of "plaintiff" in your last sentence above?

 

In any case, the complaint document stated that the guest boarded in Cape Town (where that segment had started on March 5th, 2019), and so the guest must have been booked for quite a lengthy cruise.  There is also no indication in the document that the guest was traveling with a companion, so most likely he was a solo traveler.  As we all know, there are usually not many male solo passengers on Seabourn, let alone ones on a lengthy segment.  So the guest was likely a retiree enjoying a quasi world cruise (Seabourn wasn't doing "World Cruises" during that season).  What a terrible way to have to prematurely end a wonderful vacation.

 

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by sfvoyage

[sfvoyage]

4 hours ago, DUHCAR said:

It was also strange that someone would come on board as an asst CD and who was seemingly unfamiliar with Seabourn's ways and then suddenly be promoted to CD on another ship and leave the ship mid-cruise.  They had to scramble to replace him.

 

Yes, and what a ludicrous and head-scratching excuse.  Usually the official explanation for a suddenly-departed staff would be "for personal and/or family reasons." 

 

In fact, on the Sojourn a couple of years ago, an officer disappeared suddenly mid-cruise in order to "return home for family reasons", when in reality he was fired for drinking problem.  Another staff was suddenly let go due to mental health issue.   Unfortunate, as both staff were wonderful, and I had thought they would go far with Seabourn.

 

Oh, well, the high drama at high seas, above and below deck...

[DUHCAR]

5 minutes ago, sfvoyage said:

 

I think you meant to write "defendant" instead of "plaintiff" in your two sentences above.

 

In any case, the complaint document stated that the guest boarded in Cape Town (where that segment had started on March 5th, 2019), and so the guest must have been booked for quite a lengthy cruise.  There is also no indication in the document that the guest was traveling with a companion, so most likely he was a solo traveler.  As we all know, there are usually not many male solo passengers on Seabourn, let alone ones on a lengthy segment.  So the guest was likely a retiree enjoying a quasi world cruise (Seabourn wasn't doing "World Cruises" during that season).  What a terrible way to have to prematurely end a wonderful vacation.

 

 

No, I meant plaintiff in this case who is the guest.  He is one suing Seabourn et al. The guest was not traveling with a companion for several reasons that I will not go into here.  He was not a retiree.  He was on for the 36 days from CT to Singapore, but left the ship prematurely after the incident.

[sfvoyage]

4 minutes ago, DUHCAR said:

No, I meant plaintiff in this case who is the guest.  He is one suing Seabourn et al. The guest was not traveling with a companion for several reasons that I will not go into here.  He was not a retiree.  He was on for the 36 days from CT to Singapore, but left the ship prematurely after the incident.

 

Sorry, we crossed posts.  I meant to ask if you had meant defendant in your last sentence, not last 2 sentences.

 

I'd assume the ACD would have to cancel his hosted dinners after he was let go.  Perhaps you meant the guest (i.e. plaintiff) cancelled his hosted dinners?

Edited May 9, 2020 by sfvoyage

[DUHCAR]

2 minutes ago, sfvoyage said:

 

I'd assume the ACD would have to cancel his hosted dinners after he was let go.  Perhaps you meant the guest (i.e. plaintiff) cancelled his hosted dinners?

Yes.

[westmount]

  There's always three sides to every story, but usually a serious case like this would be handled by the criminal courts, and if successful ( outside of OJ) then the civil case can be handled quite easily and settlement made. I didn't see anywhere what transpired in any criminal complaint. I guess here in Canada we don't have an industry of Ambulence chasers protecting the public from themselves, and that has nothing to do with whether a crime was committed or not. In any case, I'm only surprised that cruise ships aren't watching everything going on as do casinos etc, as I'm sure there are many stories on cruise ships of too much alcohol and assaults, and I presumed every part of the ship is being watched. If nothing else, this will change on Seabourn. 

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, westmount said:

  There's always three sides to every story, but usually a serious case like this would be handled by the criminal courts, and if successful ( outside of OJ) then the civil case can be handled quite easily and settlement made. I didn't see anywhere what transpired in any criminal complaint. I guess here in Canada we don't have an industry of Ambulence chasers protecting the public from themselves, and that has nothing to do with whether a crime was committed or not. In any case, I'm only surprised that cruise ships aren't watching everything going on as do casinos etc, as I'm sure there are many stories on cruise ships of too much alcohol and assaults, and I presumed every part of the ship is being watched. If nothing else, this will change on Seabourn. 

Ambulance Chaser is a pejorative term often used to describe lawyers, both the good and the bad.  I don't think we know any answers here.  What DUHCAR posted gives me pause and makes me think that there was a known incident which Seabourn did not report. 

  We may never know the true outcome if there is a civil settlement (which may between Seabourn and the plaintiff).  

Edited May 9, 2020 by SLSD

[Paulchili]

3 hours ago, westmount said:

In any case, I'm only surprised that cruise ships aren't watching everything going on as do casinos etc, as I'm sure there are many stories on cruise ships of too much alcohol and assaults, and I presumed every part of the ship is being watched. If nothing else, this will change on Seabourn. 

Surely you are not suggesting cameras in the cabin!

At best there might be a camera in the hallway which would tell us nothing about what might have happened in the cabin.

[westmount]

I’m just  saying that criminal is criminal and civil suit is about money. If you are criminalizes, you want the guy in jail or dead, if you want money, vs justice, then you are not so innocent 

[SLSD]

4 hours ago, westmount said:

I’m just  saying that criminal is criminal and civil suit is about money. If you are criminalizes, you want the guy in jail or dead, if you want money, vs justice, then you are not so innocent 

I don't agree (and I'm not talking just about this particular case).  There are different standards of evidence for criminal and civil cases.  Think about the OJ Simpson case---found innocent in the criminal case, another result in the civil case.  

[Paulchili]

2 hours ago, SLSD said:

I don't agree (and I'm not talking just about this particular case).  There are different standards of evidence for criminal and civil cases.  Think about the OJ Simpson case---found innocent in the criminal case, another result in the civil case.  

Isn't it guilty beyond reasonable doubt vs preponderance of evidence - different standards.

[SLSD]

4 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Isn't it guilty beyond reasonable doubt vs preponderance of evidence - different standards.

Yes.  Different standards.  

[westmount]

Either the passenger was drugged with a premeditated criminal plan, or not. Bill Cosby is in jail for a lifetime of this behaviour. My take , for the little that its worth, is that if evidence showed the action did take place as described, the acd would be in lockup somewhere and a settlement would have been made quietly already. We've now heard the whole story from one side here, and presume the other side will have one as well.  In my twisted mind, I figure a straight single guy traveling on a long cruise would be the eye of all the single female travellers, thus my thought he must have been gay. That doesn't make a date rape non criminal, it just makes it murky on the high seas of he said/he said of what happened. The problem i see is that crew members should not be allowed to be involved with passengers on board, precisely as these lawsuits blame the cruise lines who reputations you are trying to cash in on.  The saga will be an interesting one that will end with a settlement we won't know about. 

[Astride]

If you follow all the clues, it appears to me that the identity of the defendant has been revealed by a poster on this board.

[MightyQuinn]

1 hour ago, Astride said:

If you follow all the clues, it appears to me that the identity of the defendant has been revealed by a poster on this board.

 

Indeed.  I put 2+2 together and figured it out.  We actually sailed with the defendant in his pre-Seabourn life.  He was much loved and lauded at that time, but my husband and I were not too taken with him.  We found him to be overly suave and phony.
 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

 

 

2 hours ago, Astride said:

If you follow all the clues, it appears to me that the identity of the defendant has been revealed by a poster on this board.

 

Not to me.  But then I've only sailed once on Seabourn.  And by the way, I did not mean to imply that I knew who he was, when I posted this, below.  Just that I might recognize the name or the face if I did know the identity:

 

On 5/9/2020 at 11:24 AM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Hmm, then I might remember him, having first sailed on the PG in 2000, which was also our first Radisson cruise.  

...

Edited May 10, 2020 by Wendy The Wanderer

[westmount]

it doesn't really matter who he is, as passengers have to feel safe on board and should be. I remember the story many years ago when an innocent girl was taken to Mike Tysons room to be alone with him at 2 am to meet the famous boxer, and bad things happened,  and he went to jail for being Mike Tyson at 2 am. I'm a liberal canadian all the way, but people should be responsible for themselves wherever possible. It's a horrific story if true, and of course possible, i guess we'll just have to see if there were other similar cases with this employee anywhere else, as i would doubt this would have been the first time. Hopefully it doesn't happen again on any cruise ship, we should only be so lucky as to be able to get on one sometime in the future 

[cruisr]

Yes, people should be responsible for theirselves behavior but if someone puts a date rape drug in their drink how is that person responsible for his/her behavior?  It is scary that having a drink with an employee (whom one would think is properly vetted) can lead to what is alleged in the case.

 

I was surprised to hear the comments from “Alex” the security officer as I presumed that there were cameras in all places, except the suites and spa area/changing rooms of course.

My husband and I were walking to the lifts and we shared a kiss, waiting for the lift.  An officer saw us kissing and jokingly said,  “Watch out, we are watching you”.  I thought he was serious.

 

My husband and I sailed on PG in Tahiti during the time when the CD was onboard but don’t remember him at all.

 

Pretty easy with a few key word searches to find his name.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

21 hours ago, cruisr said:

Pretty easy with a few key word searches to find his name.

 

Maybe for you, not for me, and I consider myself pretty friendly with Monsieur Google.

[sfvoyage]

21 hours ago, cruisr said:

Pretty easy with a few key word searches to find his name.

 

Indeed, I just googled with 6 words (from the news article link in the first post) and was able to find his name on an old cruise review.

Edited May 11, 2020 by sfvoyage

[Wendy The Wanderer]

55 minutes ago, sfvoyage said:

 

Indeed, I just googled with 6 words (from the news article link in the first post) and was able to find his name on an old cruise review.

 

Well gee, I guess I'm just using the wrong 6 words, since all I can come up with is the complainant's pseudonym, John Doe.