A 19-Year-Old Woman Alleged Victim of Group Assault on MSC Seaside

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Reports from several news outlets indicate that during a recent voyage on the MSC Seaside, three French nationals engaged in an alleged group assault of a 19-year-old female student from Italy who was part of a school excursion.

According to sources, the suspects boarded the MSC Seaside in Marseilles, one of the ports of call on the ship’s route, a few days after the victim embarked on her journey from Civitavecchia near Rome.

The incident took place while the vessel was en route back to Italy (Genoa). Authorities revealed that after luring the woman into their cabin, the three individuals reportedly forced themselves upon her in a locked room.

Upon reaching Genoa, the border police initiated an investigation, questioned the victim, and obtained footage from the ship’s surveillance cameras, leading to the arrest of the alleged perpetrators.

This purported assault on an MSC ship occurred approximately two months following accusations of rape leveled against a 27-year-old crew member on the MSC Fantasia by a 33-year-old passenger from the UK.

Recent disclosures highlight the sexual assault rates documented by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) concerning incidents on cruises starting from and returning to U.S. ports. Review: DOT’s First Quarter Report on Cruise-Crime Data: Carnival Cruise Line Vessels Identified as the Most Violent at Sea.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) cruise crime statistics, mandated by the 2010 Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, continue to show that @CarnivalCruise 🚢remains by far the most likely #cruise line to have incidents of physical and sexual violence at sea.

Whether it…

— James (Jim) Walker (@CruiseLaw) May 17, 2024

During the initial three months of this year, the DOT received reports of 32 cases of sexual assaults and rapes on cruise ships stopping at U.S. ports. In 2023, a total of 131 sexual assault incidents were recorded on cruises originating from U.S. ports.

The data from DOT excludes accounts of sexual assaults on cruises navigating through regions such as Europe, Africa, Asia, or Australia.

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Image credit: MSC Seaside (sailing from Miami) Yanjipy – CC BY-SA 4.0 commons / wikimedia.

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