February 8, 2003 | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
A Carnival Cruise Line crew member was arrested by the Broward County Sheriff’s Department on charges that he raped a passenger aboard the Legend as it returned to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Broward Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said the 28-year-old female victim was asleep around 5 a.m. when the crewman, Made Wirawan, 24, used a master key to enter her cabin. Once inside, the crewman raped the woman as the cruise ship returned to port in Fort Lauderdale. The Legend was returning from an eight-day Caribbean cruise.
The victim reported the incident to Carnival’s onboard security personnel. After identifying Wirawan, a native of Indonesia, security guards detained him until the ship was docked and the sheriff’s department responded, Coleman-Wright said.
The woman, who lives out-of-state, was transported to the Sexual Assault Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale for tests. She then returned to her home state to recover from the assault.
The Carnival crewman was arrested and and jailed in Fort Lauderdale on charges of sexual battery and burglary with assault or battery.
Jennifer de la Cruz, a spokeswoman for the Miami-based cruise line, confirmed the crewman was a shipboard employee of Carnival. She would offer no other comment about the sexual assault.
Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A. was responsible for handling the lawsuit that ensued and obtained a settlement prior to trial. Due to the nature of these types of cases, all settlement amounts are confidential. Please take a look at some more of the cruise rape and sexual assault cases the firm has handled. Contact us if you have been the victim of a rape or sexual assault on a cruise ship and let us put our experience to work for you.
