A Margaritaville cruise ship bartender accused of sneaking into cabins and sexually assaulting two women was sentenced to just two years in prison, avoiding lifelong stigma as a sex offender. Ta.
Houbesh Kumar Dookie, who is in his 20s, pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact in an agreement with prosecutors last October, avoiding a possible life sentence on federal sexual abuse charges, the report said. palm beach post.
Peter Burch, Dockey’s attorney and assistant U.S. public defender, said in a recent court appearance that the victim, a bartender at Margaritaville in Sea Paradise in May 2023, was wearing “very” skimpy clothing. “I had no intention of running away,” he said, arguing for a lighter prison sentence. ” reported the Palm Beach Post.
Margaritaville Cruise bartender accused of sexually assaulting two women in cabin and impregnating one
The lawsuit, filed in West Palm Beach, Fla., is the second lawsuit against Classica’s Margaritaville at Sea cruise line, alleging that on May 5, 2023, a staff member snuck into a room with a stolen key card. , stemming from an incident in which he allegedly sexually assaulted two women. internal. (USA Today Network)
Spencer Aronfeld, a lawyer representing one of the women in a civil suit stemming from the incident, said the argument was “just despicable.”
“It was so misogynistic that it made me angry and creepy at the same time,” Aaronfeld told the Palm Beach Post.
U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon was unmoved by that argument, siding with prosecutors and sentencing Dookie to a year longer than recommended in sentencing guidelines.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Ralston said in a written motion to a judge rebutting Dookie’s claim that one of the women gave him the room key of her own volition, the crew’s actions were “egregious. ” he said.
According to the two women, in May, five hours after the cruise ship left the Port of Palm Beach, Docky was sleeping in his room with the room key he had used to charge drinks in his pocket. It is said that he sneaked into the.
According to one of the women’s lawsuits against the ship and its parent company, Classica Cruise Lines, one of the women, identified only as SE, said Dookie told her to “stop” before touching her face. He said he woke up because of it.
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One of the women returned to her room exhausted after reaching her 10 drink limit. Without her knowledge, bartender Houbesh Dookie had pocketed the room key card he used to charge her drinks to her account. Pictured is the public lounge area of the Margaritaville cruise ship. (USA Today Network)
SE realized she was pregnant a few months later and reportedly suffered complications after having an abortion. She is seeking $75,000 in damages, according to the lawsuit.
The other woman, identified as HB, “awoke to the man touching her breasts, kissing her neck, and penetrating her vagina,” according to the complaint.
Dookie and the women agree that he took out his cell phone to film himself groping the naked sleeping women. The woman suing in the civil suit also said that after asking her friend to leave so she could get evidence, she pulled out her cell phone and videotaped Dookie sexually assaulting her friend. claims.
The woman’s room key and a cellphone photo of her were found the morning after the assault. The Washington Post reported that in an interview with FBI agents, Dookie admitted that she had been drinking that night. He initially claimed the sex with HB was consensual, but in October he took a plea deal to avoid a possible life sentence, the Palm Beach newspaper reported.
Fox News Digital was unable to reach Dookie’s attorney Birch or the cruise line for comment at the time of reporting.
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According to Department of Transportation data, sexual assault is the most frequently reported crime on cruise ships, with 30 victims filing allegations of sexual assault in the past three months of 2022. (USA Today Network)
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Dookie is currently being held at FDC Miami.
He is scheduled to be released by his 28th birthday and will be subject to five years of post-release supervision, according to the Palm Beach Post. He will not be required to register as a sex offender, the newspaper said.
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According to Department of Transportation data, sexual assault is the most commonly reported crime on cruise ships. Cruise crime statistics released for the past three months of 2022 show that 30 sexual assaults were reported across 13 cruise lines, with 21 victims naming other passengers as their attackers.
More than 500 sexual assault reports were filed by passengers on major cruise ships between 2010 and 2022, the Palm Beach Post reported.
