Sexual Assault in a Cruise

[quincy]

At the time of incident reported, cruise was in international water.
My son was with her in that room; he is the only witness for the rape attempt

That is good. Even though your son is related, your daughter has a witness who can corroborate her story.

Did your daughter know her assailant prior to the assault? Does she know where he lives? If he also resides in Texas, it can make filing a civil action against him easier.

In your daughter’s opinion, did the cruise line provide adequate security on the ship? Because the assailant was a passenger and not a member of the ship’s crew, the cruise line’s liability is probably limited.

Again, your daughter will want to act quickly to get the information she needs from the cruise line. She should be interviewing attorneys now.

 

[Jack912]

That is good. Even though your son is related, your daughter has a witness who can corroborate her story.

Did your daughter know her assailant prior to the assault? Does she know where he lives? If he also resides in Texas, it can make filing a civil action against him easier.

In your daughter’s opinion, did the cruise line provide adequate security on the ship? Because the assailant was a passenger and not a member of the ship’s crew, the cruise line’s liability is probably limited.

Again, your daughter will want to act quickly to get the information she needs from the cruise line. She should be interviewing attorneys now.

we went with other two family; the assailant is one of them.
I was a school bus driver and he was working with me
Because he is ‘her dad’s friend’, she just believed him when he offered that he would escort my son and daughter to the room from casino.
While they were walking towards her room both of them felt some thing fishy and my daughter texted me saying that ‘dad, your friend have wired vibes’
But, in the sea, signals were bad and that message were not delivered
Once they entered the room, he said he wanted to use the restroom and he got in.
My son, who has learning difficulties, 24 years old, now working at goodwill, told his sister that‘I don’t like the way he behaves’

they both on the bed and he got out from the rest room and turned off the light and tried toassault my daughter; my daughter is like 110 lbs and assailant is like 190 lbs, still she managed to push him away and ran into my room

 

[quincy]

we went with other two family; the assailant is one of them.
I was a school bus driver and he was working with me
Because he is ‘her dad’s friend’, she just believed him when he offered that he would escort my son and daughter to the room from casino.
While they were walking towards her room both of them felt some thing fishy and my daughter texted me saying that ‘dad, your friend have wired vibes’
But, in the sea, signals were bad and that message were not delivered
Once they entered the room, he said he wanted to use the restroom and he got in.
My son, who has learning difficulties, 24 years old, now working at goodwill, told his sister that‘I don’t like the way he behaves’

they both on the bed and he got out from the rest room and turned off the light and tried toassault my daughter; my daughter is like 110 lbs and assailant is like 190 lbs, still she managed to push him away and ran into my room

Thank you for explaining more fully what happened.

Any legal action considered will be against your “friend.” The cruise line will have no liability under the incident as described.

Because your daughter’s assailant is a resident of Texas, your daughter can file a report with local police (even if the assault occurred on the cruise ship) and she can explore filing a civil action against the man with the attorney she sees.

I am sorry both your daughter and you were so badly harmed by someone you considered a friend.

 

[zddoodah]

Your descriptions of the events have been all over the map. In your original post, you referred to a "sexual assault." Later, you changed to "rape attempt," and now you've said that the person "tried to[]assault [your] daughter."

I neither need nor want to know any more specifics. However, since criminal prosecution seems, at best, unlikely, and since I'm guessing your daughter suffered few or no injuries as a result of what happened, I'm not sure how practical a lawsuit will be. If successful, she'd still be entitled to nominal damages and punitive damages, but most 24-year olds aren't going to have a ton of money, and the extent of one's assets is one of the primary bases on which punitive damages are calculated. That will make it difficult to find a lawyer to take the case unless your daughter or you are willing to pay the lawyer on an hourly basis.

 

[quincy]

Your descriptions of the events have been all over the map. In your original post, you referred to a "sexual assault." Later, you changed to "rape attempt," and now you've said that the person "tried to[]assault [your] daughter." ...

These all would fall under the same Texas statute - Penal Code Chapter 22 Assaultive Offenses. Rape/attempted rape is an assaultive offense in Texas.

Under Chapter 22, Section 22.011 Sexual Assault, 20.011(1)(C), sexual assault includes contact or penetration.

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.22.htm

https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/penal-code/penal-sect-22-011.html

 

[Taxing Matters]

These all would fall under the same Texas statute - Penal Code Chapter 22 Assaultive Offenses. Rape/attempted rape is an assaultive offense in Texas.

While the OP tagged TX as the state in the initial post, nothing in the facts gives suggests that Texas would have any jurisdiction over the alleged attacker or that Texas law would apply. In general, in the U.S. the criminal law that applies and the and state having jurisdiction to try the case would be the state in which the crime took place. It does not seem likely at all that the alleged assault took place in Texas. As the ship is not U.S. flagged US criminal law would not apply to an assault in international waters. Where the defendant resides doesn't matter for criminal law purposes.

If by change the assailant lives in Texas, that would, as you indicated, make a civil suit a bit easier, however.

 

[quincy]

While the OP tagged TX as the state in the initial post, nothing in the facts gives suggests that Texas would have any jurisdiction over the alleged attacker or that Texas law would apply. In general, in the U.S. the criminal law that applies and the and state having jurisdiction to try the case would be the state in which the crime took place. It does not seem likely at all that the alleged assault took place in Texas. As the ship is not U.S. flagged US criminal law would not apply to an assault in international waters. Where the defendant resides doesn't matter for criminal law purposes.

If by change the assailant lives in Texas, that would, as you indicated, make a civil suit a bit easier, however.

Jack912 said he works with his daughter’s assailant. The state with laws that apply, therefore, are Texas laws for any civil action pursued.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Jack912 said he works with his daughter’s assailant. The state with laws that apply, therefore, are Texas laws for any civil action pursued.

In that case, if we assume that the attacker lives in TX, the suit could certainly be brought there. (Depending on where in TX the daughter works there is the slight possibility that the attacker lives in a bordering state and commutes to TX to work.) Where he works isn't really a factor in deciding which law applies. However, even if he resides in TX that does not automatically mean that Texas substantive law would apply. I don't think it's that easy to assume it would. If the attack did not occur in TX or US waters off the TX coast one would need to look at the choice of law provisions in the TX code to see what law the court would apply. If the ship was in international waters, it may be that Panamanian law would apply, or that the law of some other state might apply if the contracts of passage specify the law that would apply in this situation. I haven't looked at the TX choice of law rules nor have I seen the contracts of passage so I can't say for sure what jurisdication's law would apply. That's something the OP's daughter's lawyer would need to address.

 

[quincy]

I agree that the daughter needs to review all facts with an attorney.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I agree that the daughter needs to review all facts with an attorney.

Yes. This isn't simple, unfortunately. I want to clarify the my previous post referred to issues in suing the assailant. If there is any potential liability on the part of the cruise line, the answer may well be different.

 

[quincy]

Yes. This isn't simple, unfortunately. I want to clarify the my previous post referred to issues in suing the assailant. If there is any potential liability on the part of the cruise line, the answer may well be different.

Right. If the cruise line potentially can be shown to have some liability for the sexual assault, then other laws would need to be considered. I just don’t see that the cruise line can be held liable based on what has been described.

For any prosecution of the man for sexual assault, it appears that the criminal laws of Panama would apply because the ship sailed under the Panamanian flag. From what I have read of prosecutions of sexual assaults/rapes in international waters, however, the odds of successfully pursuing such a case are not great.

Reporting the assault to local police would be more to establish a record should the man assault anyone in the future. And the daughter should herself report the assault to the FBI even though the cruise ship is required to do so.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to the “Extraterritorial Maritime Jurisdiction Over Violent Crimes on Cruise Ships,” published by the Department of Justice.

https://www.justice.gov/criminal-hrsp/file/1495886/download

The publication goes over “The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act” and speaks to how the US can assert jurisdiction over crimes committed against US residents even when the crimes were committed on a cruise ship sailing in international waters under another country’s flag.