Lawsuit alleges MSC civilian mariner was raped by captain

Lawsuit alleges that incident took place aboard USNS Carson City [U.S. Navy photograph]

A complaint filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey alleges that an MSC civilian mariner was raped by the captain when working as the 1st assistant engineer aboard the USNS Carson City, a Spearhead class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EFT). The suit alleges that the United States failed to adequately protect the mariner, Elsie E. Dominguez, the ship’s 1st assistant engineer, from sexual assault.

The complaint asserts that the United States’ conduct violates the Jones Act because Ms. Dominguez’s injuries were directly caused by the United States’ negligence and failure to provide a seaworthy vessel.

The complaint was filed by law firms Sanford Heisler Sharp and Maritime Legal Solutions.,

The two firms represented Hope Hicks (Midshipman X) in her lawsuit brought against Maersk Line Limited last year. That litigation was subsequently settled with attorneys for both parties mutually agreeing that neither side would disclose details of their agreement.

Since that case was resolved, changes to the law were enacted as part of the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to enhance crew safety and address sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) issues, with the Coast Guard recently issuing new guidance on compliance.

Ms. Dominguez, a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, is represented in the matter by Sanford Heisler Sharp partners, Christine Dunn (D.C. Office) and Carolin Guentert (New York Office), Co-Chairs of the Sexual Violence, Title IX and Victims’ Rights Practice Group; Frank Xu, an associate; and Shannon Henris, a litigation fellow, both in the D.C. Office. She is also represented by J. Ryan Melogy of the New York law firm Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC.

The complaint alleges that Ms. Dominguez left the ship while off duty on the evening of December 18, 2021, and that, while she was ashore, someone slipped a drug into her drink, causing her to black out. The complaint further alleges that Ms. Dominguez was so incapacitated from the drug that she had to be carried back onto the ship by fellow crew members and taken to her stateroom. The complaint also alleges that Ms. Dominguez awoke in the early morning of December 19, 2021, to find the captain of the ship raping her as she lay in her bed unconscious.

According to the complaint, the captain gained entry to Ms. Dominguez’s room, while she was unconscious, by using a master key code. The complaint alleges that the United States was negligent in allowing him unrestricted access to her room, without adequate safeguards in place. Following the assault, Ms. Dominguez felt so unsafe that she requested a deadbolt lock be installed on the inside of her stateroom door. The complaint further alleges that the cameras in the passageways leading to Ms. Dominguez’s room, which could have deterred the captain from entering her stateroom that night, had been broken for over a year at the time of the sexual assault and the United States was negligent in not repairing them.

After the rape, when Ms. Dominguez sought help from her superiors and the MSC Sexual Assault Prevention and Response helpline, she alleges that she was discouraged from reporting, dissuaded from seeking medical testing, denied access to confidential reporting, and had her job threatened. The complaint also alleges that the United States was negligent in failing to have adequate sexual assault prevention training and reporting systems on the ship.

The United States has waived sovereign immunity under the Suits in Admiralty Act and the Public Vessels Act. The complaint requests a jury trial.

• You can read the full complaint HERE