MIAMI - A passenger who was raped by a Norwegian Cruise Line employee last year has sued the company, saying she was poorly treated after reporting the assault.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court seeks unspecified damages for the woman's "severe physical and emotional trauma and distress" stemming from the July attack on the SS Norway.
The suit claims that after the woman told the company about the incident, the cruise line characterized her as a "nuisance" and offered her a discount on a future cruise.
According to the suit, a wine steward served the woman and her husband alcoholic beverages in their cabin toward the end of the cruise.
When the couple "became unconscious due to the effects of the alcohol (and/or drugs which may have been surreptitiously placed by the crew member in the drinks)," the steward sexually assaulted the woman, the suit said. The steward, Steve Ramdath Gurdin, pleaded guilty in December in federal court and was sentenced to six months in prison.
