Personal Injury Law

Woman 'buzzed' night of alleged cruise ship attack

By Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A.

A Kansas City woman who claims a headwaiter for a Princess Cruise Lines ship sexually assaulted her when she was a passenger told jurors today in Los Angeles federal court she was "buzzed" the night of the alleged attack.

Portuguese national Jorge Manuel Teixeira, 39, is charged in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles with aggravated sexual assault. Federal law allows for the prosecution of those accused of attacking U.S. citizens on the high seas.

In court today, the alleged victim told jurors she was traveling last March with her grandmother on a 14-day Princess cruise between Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles.

During the trip, she said, Teixeira asked to meet her for "a date" in one of the ship's restaurants at 11 p.m., after diners had left.

The 42-year-old woman said she agreed to meet Teixeira in a dimly lit corner of the dining room for late-night drinks.

"He looked striking and was in good shape," she testified today.

The two split a bottle of white wine, she told the federal jury.

"I am sure I was buzzed but I did not feel out of control," she said today.

At some point, the headwaiter forced her to perform a sex act and attacked her, she said.

"This was aggravated sexual abuse," Assistant U.S. Attorney Reema M. El-Amamy said at a previous hearing. "This was a crew member who met a passenger on the ship and proceeded to sexually assault her."

Teixeira, who had worked on cruise ships for 18 years, denies attacking the woman, but admitted that after meeting with her, he touched her leg and "another part" of her body as they left the table, according to court papers.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Stephen D. Demik said the passenger's account of the night only raises questions, describing Teixeira as a "family man" with two children in Portugal and no history of violence.

After the alleged attack, the woman said she did not know who to turn to.

"I was scared -- and I did not know who to trust at this point," she said. "I didn't want to go to another (ship) employee."

If convicted, Teixeira faces a potential life prison sentence, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

At a bail hearing in March, the headwaiter was deemed a flight risk and ordered held until trial.

Prosecutors said that while the alleged attack took place in waters far from U.S. shores, federal authorities have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes on the high seas involving American citizens.

Testimony is scheduled to resume Thursday.

Full post as published by Cruise Ship Law on November 11, 2009 (boomark / email).