A New Zealand newspaper reports that the police in the port city of Tauranga are investigating sexual assault allegations made against a crew member of the Millennium cruise ship which docked at the port yesterday morning after sailing from Fiji.
Police state a woman in her late 40’s or early 50’s accuses one of the crew members of the Celebrity Cruises ship of “indecently assaulting her” while the cruise ship was in Fiji waters.
Police state that the passenger alerted the ship’s captain who then informed Tauranga Police once the ship docked at the port in New Zealand.
The newspaper reports that “police are looking into the matter.”
Cruise ship rapes are one of the problems which cruise lines try and keep secret.
A decade ago, we represented a victim of a rape which occurred on this cruise ship. In our experience, the rape of women and children by cruise employees are rarely prosecuted in the civil courts. Behind the scenes, cruise lines work to defend their employees and build a case against the victims.
In the civil courts, cruise lines are strictly liable when their employees sexually assault passengers on the high seas.
November 18, 2012 update: No Surpirse – New Zealand declines to make arrest: “Citing Tight Cruise Itinerary and Jurisdictional Issues, New Zealand Police Decline to Arrest Crew Member in Alleged Cruise Ship Sexual Assault“
Photo credit: Sun Live