Jane Doe
Date: January 24, 2007
Cruise Bruise: Sexual Assault
Bruise Location: Australia
Age: 16
Home Town: Unknown
Cruise Line: P & O Cruises
Ship: Pacific Star
Details:
Cruise Ship Sexual Assault
16 Year Old Girl Alleges Raped
P & O Pacific Star - January 24, 2007
Cruise Line: P & O Cruises
Ship: Pacific Star (Tropicale)
Built: 1982
Refurbished: 2001
Registry: Great Britian
Size: 35,190 Gross Tons
Length: 669 feet
Passengers: 1,022
Crew: 550
Bow Webcam: > Here
A 16-year-old girl alleges she was sexually assaulted on P&O Pacific Star, police say. The alleged sexual-assault victim was part of a club for under age passengers. Club members have a special color coded pass they wear at all times.
A P&O spokeswoman said: "There was an alleged sexual assault and the matter is now with police."
The spokeswoman said police were contacted on Thursday morning, and the Pacific Star’s officer and captain were informed. The girl said she was the victim of a late-night assault in a cabin after a night time Hawaiian themed party on the ship's top deck Wednesday January 24, 2007.
Six detectives from the Queensland Police Service State Crime Operations Command boarded the Pacific Star on Friday as it returned from a tropical Queensland cruise to Port Douglas and Willis Island, 450km east of Cairns. "We couldn't believe it when we saw police coming aboard,'' Jemma White, of Sydney, said.
The cabin where the alleged rape took place was sealed off, with a guard posted and three men of interest were questioned.
Plainclothes officers led a 23 year old New South Wales, Australia man away in handcuffs after the ship docked in Brisbane yesterday. He was later charged with possession of ecstasy and amphetamines.
Police confirmed he was one of the men in the cabin where the alleged assault took place, but was not believed to have carried it out.
A Melbourne woman who attended the theme party said she saw security guards grab the girl in the early hours of Thursday. "She very upset and tried to throw herself overboard," the woman said. "Security guards grabbed her, pinned her down, and she was crying on the deck."
Passenger Darren Pont, 37, said detectives had questioned him after security cameras identified him sitting on deck with a group of friends late on Wednesday night.
"They asked about rape, drugs on board, punch-ups," Mr Pont.
A Melbourne woman who shared a dinner table with the three men said she last saw them on Wednesday night. "I was allocated to sit with them, but after Wednesday night we never saw them again," she said. "I became concerned when they stopped turning up for dinner. It was like they never existed."
The ship docked in Brisbane January 27th.
This case is similar in some respects to the case of Dianne Brimble. There is also an alleged drink spiking incident aboard a P & O Cruise - Here
The video below is from a 2006 P & O Schoolies cruise, not this one. For those of you not familiar with a 'schoolies' cruise, this should help you understand what they are.
