Lawsuit accuses cruise bartender of raping, impregnating married woman

Article content

The owner of a cruise liner is facing a lawsuit from a passenger who accuses the ship’s bartender of raping and impregnating her.

The lawsuit, filed in Florida last month by a woman identified only as Jane Doe, alleged that she was the second victim of the crew member to be sexually assaulted on May 5, 2023.

Due to the alleged assault, the woman claimed she became pregnant and “was forced to terminate the pregnancy, from which she then suffered serious complications,” according to the suit obtained by the Palm Beach Post.

The passenger said she and a friend boarded the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise ship from the Port of Palm Beach, Fla., and was bound for the Bahamas.

Doe and her cabinmate, identified as HB in a separate lawsuit, were served drinks by bartender Hoobesh Dookhy and alleged that he stole one of their room keys.

The lawsuit said Dookhy allegedly used the key to enter the victims’ room while they were asleep. He allegedly caressed Doe’s face and then sexually assaulted her.

After telling the FBI that she ordered the man to leave the room, Doe allegedly that Dookhy began to assault HB as well.

The following morning, Doe photographed the assault and reported it to cruise ship security, according to the lawsuit.

Court records said that the women’s room key was allegedly located by investigators in the pocket of Dookhy’s work vest. A photo he took of HB, naked and asleep, was also allegedly found on his cellphone.

Dookhy, who said both encounters were consensual, faced the possibility of a long prison sentence. In October, he pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact following a plea deal that dropped the worst of the two charges against him. He is facing up to two years in prison at sentencing.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

The alleged rape Doe described in the lawsuit was not part of the charges Dookhy faced.

HB’s lawsuit against Classica, which owns the cruise ship, is ongoing. Last year, a judge struck down her request for punitive damages while she still seeks compensatory damages.

Doe was listed as a witness of her friend’s sexual assault despite allegedly being a victim herself, but she decided to file a lawsuit because of Dookhy’s conviction last year, her lawyer Spencer Aronfeld said.

Doe did not take a paternity test before terminating her pregnancy, Aronfeld said, but she is prepared to testify that she and her husband were not sexually active before or after the alleged rape.