Cruise Ship Worker Raped and Impregnated Passenger, Lawsuit Alleges

A woman is suing a cruise operator after a crew member allegedly snuck into her cabin and raped her, causing her to become pregnant.

The assault occurred in May 2023 aboard the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise as it was sailing from Rivera Beach in Florida to Freeport, Bahamas, according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on December 29.

The lawsuit, which Newsweek reviewed, said the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, and her cabin mate had been drinking at a bar aboard the ship on the evening of May 5. Both charged the beverages to their cabin, thereby “providing crewmembers staffing the bar access to their shared cabin number and room key,” the lawsuit said.

It alleged that as they slept in the cabin later that night, bartender Hoobesh Dookhy entered the room and raped Doe.

Doe became pregnant as a result and “was forced to terminate the pregnancy from which she then suffered serious complications,” the lawsuit said.

Newsweek has contacted Classica, via Margaritaville at Sea, for comment via email.

Doe’s attorney, Spencer Aronfeld, said that his client reported the assault to the FBI prior to filing the lawsuit.

“Rape victims frequently do not immediately report the crime—as it has both severe physical and emotional consequences,” he told Newsweek via email.

She did not undergo a paternity test to determine who impregnated her because she had not been sexually active at the time, Aronfeld said.

“She didn’t need one since she knew she had not had sexual relations with anyone including her husband for months,” he said.

“Additionally, she has never had an abortion before—and she suffered vaginal clotting after the procedure. Under federal maritime law a cruise line is legally responsible anytime a crewmember rapes a passenger. There is no defense to an intentional harm.”

Doe is seeking more than $75,000 in damages from the cruise line.

Doe’s cabin mate, identified only as H. B., filed a separate lawsuit in August against Classica Cruise Operator Ltd, and against Margaritaville at Sea, alleging Dookhy also raped her.

The assault on H.B. was reported to authorities on the morning of May 6.

According to an FBI affidavit, Doe told FBI agents that she had been sleeping when she felt someone caressing her face. She woke and realized the person touching her was Dookhy, according to the affidavit.

She told the agents that she tried to get Dookhy to leave the cabin, but he moved to H.B.’s bed and began to sexually assault her.

Doe photographed the assault and later provided them to cruise ship security. Security provided those photographs to the FBI, including one that shows Dookhy touching H.B.’s hand and face while she is asleep. Investigators also found Doe and H.B.’s room key in Dookhy’s work vest.

Dookhy admitted to sexual intercourse with H.B. but said the encounter was consensual, still according to the affidavit, which does not mention the alleged assault on Doe.

Dookhy faced a sexual abuse charge that came with the possibility of life in federal prison, according to ABC4. He pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact in October as part of a plea agreement that saw the more serious charge against him dropped. His sentencing is set for later in January.