A woman has filed a lawsuit claiming she was sexually assaulted by a crew member during a cruise.
The plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe, filed her federal complaint against MSC Cruises S.A. The complaint says the woman is a resident of New York.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was a passenger aboard the MSC Seascape during a cruise December 18-26, 2022.
She says she became acquainted with a crew member named Welvien Escobar who is believed to be the assailant. On the evening of December 25, the plaintiff says she became intoxicated. She also alleges Escobar entered her stateroom in the early hours of December 26 and sexually assaulted her.
The lawsuit also claims MSC Cruises should have foreseen such an incident considering previous sexual assaults reported on their vessels. The plaintiff cites statistics from the Secretary of Transportation indicating that there were 12 sexual assaults reported on MSC's vessels between 2016 and 2022, with crew members committing 25% of these assaults.
Doe's lawyers argue that MSC Cruises advertises its cruises as safe and secure while failing to adequately inform prospective passengers about the risk of crime and injury onboard their vessels.