Woman sues Margaritaville at Sea cruise line after she was 'forced into room,' attacked during Bahamas trip
Margaritaville at Sea knew a woman was attacked in same hotel in 2016 and should have informed passengers, the guest's lawyer said
A cruise passenger was allegedly raped in the same Bahamas hotel that Margaritaville at Sea used in 2016, when there was evidence a different passenger was sexually assaulted, according to a federal lawsuit.
While docked in Freeport, Grand Bahama, the cruise line arranged for the victim to stay in a Freeport Wyndham because there were not any rooms available on the ship, WLFX Fox 29 reported.
"She left her room at night to get a drink of water," the lawsuit says, according to WLFX, and a hotel employee allegedly forced her "into the control room for the resort's theater, locked the door and then raped (her)."
Her lawyer, Alex Perez, told the local news outlet that Margaritaville at Sea should have warned his client, so she could make "informed decisions."
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Margaritaville at Sea was hit with a second sexual assault lawsuit in the last six months. (Margaritaville at Sea / Fox News)
The lawsuit says the cruise line failed to warn women of the dangers in Freeport before they stayed in a hotel in August 2023.
"Between 2018-19, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for the Bahamas, specifically including Freeport, warning that violent crime, including sexual assault, is common," the lawsuit says, according WLFX.
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Margaritaville at Sea did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Three months earlier, on May 5, 2023, a different woman was raped by the ship's bartender while aboard the vessel.
Margaritaville at Sea, as shown in the rendering, was docked in the Bahamas when the cruise line arranged for a woman to stay in a Freeport hotel, where she said in court filings she was raped by a hotel staff member. (Margaritaville at Sea / Fox News)
The bartender, later identified as Hoobesh Kumar Dookhy, snuck into a West Virginia woman's room while she was sleeping and woke her up by caressing her face before raping her, WPTV reported.
She was forced to terminate the pregnancy, according to the local news outlet, based on a December 2023 lawsuit against Margaritaville at Sea.
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Dookhy was ultimately arrested by federal law enforcement and charged with a federal crime. He pleaded guilty and is currently serving time in a Miami federal prison.
Earlier this year, two Kentucky women were allegedly raped by staff at a Freeport resort. The resort denied the allegations.
Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson said they were given drinks at a Freeport resort in the Bahamas that were laced with drugs before their alleged sexual assault. (Amber Nicole Shearer/Facebook / Fox News)
Frankie King, a mom of one of the survivors, said her daughter texted her, "Call us now we’ve been drugged and raped," during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital in February.
"It's a parent's worst nightmare," King said. "Your child is in trouble, in danger and scared, and they're 300, 500 miles away, or whatever, across the water, and I can't get to them."
The Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a Feb. 4 statement that two men — ages 54 and 40 — were arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault. Their names were not released.
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As Perez alluded to the State Department's travel to the Bahamas in the most recent lawsuit that specifically mentioned sex crimes and violence in Freeport.
The two women who alleged they were raped in February came forward to warn other female cruise passengers about their experience, and said they should have been warned about the travel advisory.
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"These are very sensitive issues," Perez told WFLX regarding the most recent lawsuit. "Once there's a reason to know the danger, you have to inform the passengers."