DailyExpertNews
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A federal court in Miami has ruled more than $10.2 million against Carnival Cruise Line in favor of a passenger who alleges a former crew member raped her in a storage locker aboard the Carnival Miracle in 2018, court records show. .
A jury ruled Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, finding Carnival liable in December 2018 for damages to plaintiff, also known as Jane Doe, for false imprisonment and assault by a crew member, Fredy Anggara.
The jury separately ruled that Carnival was not negligent and that the former crew member Doe did not intentionally inflict emotional distress.
The plaintiff filed a complaint against Carnival Cruise Line in November 2019, nearly a year after the incident. Anggara is not a defendant in the lawsuit.
According to the indictment, the plaintiff was 21 years old at the time of the assault and was traveling with her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s family.
The incident took place on the last night of the cruise, in the early morning hours of December 2, 2018, according to court documents. After dining with her boyfriend and two other passengers, the prosecutor became very intoxicated, according to the prosecutor’s attorney Daniel Courtney.
The prosecutor also slipped and hit her head against the pool deck of the ship, court documents show.
Shortly afterwards, the prosecutor met Anggara, who was 27 at the time, and claims she ended up in a closet with him where the assault took place, court documents show.
“She can’t remember going in or out of the closet, but Mr Anggara held her hand as they entered. Doe believed Mr Anggara was holding the closet door locked,” court documents show.
Carnival Cruise Line says the incident between the plaintiff and Anggara was by mutual consent, according to a statement released Tuesday, and plans to appeal the court’s decision.
“The crew member admitted to having a sexual encounter with the guest consistent with an FBI investigation,” the statement said.
After the incident, FBI agents boarded the ship and questioned the plaintiff, according to a complaint. The plaintiff then made a statement while being videotaped by Carnival.
DailyExpertNews has contacted the FBI and filed a FOIA request regarding its investigation into the incident.
Prior to the trial, the court ruled that Doe had proved her false claim to jail time.
In an opinion, the court ruled: “There is no evidence the jury could rely on to dismiss Doe’s undisputed recollection that at some point in the closet Mr. Anggara didn’t let her leave the closet after she had wanted to. Plaintiff’s claim for wrongful imprisonment has been established by law.”
Anggara was fired immediately after the incident, in accordance with Carnival’s zero-tolerance policy for crew fraternization with guests, Carnival’s statement said.
After the incident, Anggara told Carnival in a written statement that the plaintiff chose to go into a closet with Anggara and engage in sexual relations, according to court records.
Courtney, the plaintiff’s attorney, insists his client is a victim of sexual assault.
“I am so grateful that my client was able to experience a smooth, orderly and fair trial, despite Carnival’s efforts to poison the jury with inappropriate comments during the proceedings,” Courtney said in a statement on Wednesday. “We fully expect Carnival to appeal as they have never done the right thing when it comes to my brave customer.”
Courtney also told DailyExpertNews that Anggara was not arrested after the incident took place and it is unclear where he is currently.
DailyExpertNews was unable to reach Anggara.
