Disney cruise line sued $27m for alleged child sex abuse
A Vermont family are suing Disney’s cruise division over allegations their three-year-old daughter was sexually abused by another passenger while on the ship.
A family in Vermont are suing Disney’s cruise division over allegations their three-year-old daughter was sexually abused by another passenger while on the ship and staff failed to intervene.
In the $A27 million lawsuit, the child’s parents claim that she was enjoying a week-long voyage on the Disney Fantasy ship when she was “excessively groped and sexually touched in her private parts” by a 12-year-old girl dressed in a Princess Leia costume. Their daughter “did not have the physical capability to break through the physical restraint” of the older girl to stop the sexual assault.
The 2020 ordeal lasted for an “extended period of time” and was in “plain view” of one or more staff members at the on-board youth club, the parents, listed as John and Jane Doe, said in the complaint.
The filing also alleges that staff at no time notified the parents of the assault, which was captured through on-board CCTV, including their daughter’s “emotional and physical distress during and immediately after the incident”.
The couple are suing the Walt Disney Company subsidiary for neglect, alleging that staff were not properly licensed and lacked the necessary skills and training to take care of children.
“This is a parent’s worst nightmare,” Michael Winkleman, the lawyer representing the family, told the Daily Mail.
“Any parent would reasonably think it was safe to leave their child in the care of Disney workers, but an assault like this to occur when Disney crew members are supposed to be taking care of the child is unthinkable.
“The victim’s parents filed this case in order to seek justice and accountability and to raise awareness about the hidden dangers of sexual assaults on cruise ships.”
According to the lawsuit, “instances of sexual assaults occur aboard vessels at an alarming rate”.
“Yet Disney fails to take adequate steps or provide adequate supervision to prevent such occurrences, and fails to warn its passengers of the growing epidemic of sexual assaults at sea,” it went on.
“Defendant’s motive for failing to warn its passengers is financial in nature; that is, Defendant wilfully chooses not to warn its passengers about sexual assaults aboard its ships so as not to scare any prospective passengers away.”
In a statement to the Daily Mail, a Disney spokesman said that the “lawsuit is wholly without merit”.
“The plaintiffs’ first allegations were reported to the FBI, and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office investigated them and determined them to be unfounded,” they said in a statement.
“They have now come back with a different story, which is equally unfounded, that another young girl acted inappropriately with the three-year-old plaintiff. We will vigorously defend this case in court.”
https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/disney-cruise-line-sued-27m-for-alleged-child-sex-abuse/news-story/c315a55e67074acc9c14d4c7fcf672bb