On November 29, 2023 Elsie Dominguez courageously filed suit against the United States Navy. In her lawsuit, Dominguez alleged that while serving as the 1st Assistant Engineer aboard the USNS Carson City she was drugged while ashore in Italy and later raped by the Captain in her stateroom aboard the vessel. Elsie Dominguez’s lawsuit against the U.S. Navy brings to light serious concerns about safety and accountability within the Navy’s ranks, particularly regarding the protection of US Merchant Mariners from sexual violence.

Elsie is the latest female graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) to come forward to publicly report maritime sexual abuse, following in the footsteps of fellow USMMA graduate Hope Hicks (aka Midshipman-X) and Midshipman-Y.

Elsie Dominguez is represented in her lawsuit against the Navy and in her criminal and administrative Suspension & Revocation cases against her assailant by attorney J. Ryan Melogy of New York law firm Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC.

Links to stories about Elsie Dominguez:

1. MLAA (November 29, 2023): U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Graduate Files Lawsuit Against Military Sealift Command (MSC) Alleging She Was Raped in her Stateroom by Captain of USNS Carson City. Read the complete lawsuit complaint in Dominguez vs. United States.

2. gCaptain (November 29, 2023): US Navy Sued After Alleged Rape Of Senior US Merchant Marine Officer. “Ms. Dominguez and other US Merchant Mariners who live aboard U.S. government vessels should not have to live in fear. The United States owes a duty to protect crew members aboard its vessels, and it is failing to live up to that duty,” her attorney Ryan Melogy said. “Ms. Dominguez is courageously coming forward, at great personal and professional risk to herself, to protect others from similarly traumatic experiences.””

3. ShippingWatch (November 29, 2023): Female Engineer Sues U.S. Navy on Grounds of Rape: “Female 1st Assistant Engineer was drugged and then raped in her cabin by the captain of US Navy ship USNS Carson City, she claims in relation to a lawsuit she has filed against the US Navy.”

4. Stars & Stripes (December 1, 2023): November 30, 2023: Civilian engineer says she was sexually assaulted on Navy ship, sues service for not protecting her. “Dominguez reported her assault to Naval Criminal Investigative Service in June and the case is now with the Department of Justice’s Office of Human Rights and Special Prosecutions to determine whether criminal charges will be filed against the captain, said Ryan Melogy, an attorney representing Dominguez for the criminal investigation.”

5. MarineLog (November 29, 2023): Lawsuit alleges MSC civilian mariner was raped by captain: “The complaint alleges that Ms. Dominguez left the ship while off duty on the evening of December 18, 2021, and that, while she was ashore, someone slipped a drug into her drink…the complaint also alleges that Ms. Dominguez awoke in the early morning of December 19, 2021, to find the captain of the ship raping her as she lay in her bed unconscious.”

6. The Virginia Pilot (December 1, 2023): December 1, 2023: U.S. Navy Civilian Mariner Sues Service for Not Protecting Her. “When she did file a report in June, her attorney Ryan Melogy said he believes she remained on the job because she had hired an attorney. Following her report, Military Sealift Command returned the captain to the U.S., and “has protected the captain, shielded him from scrutiny, and continued to employ him,” according to the lawsuit.”

7. Task & Purpose (November 29, 2023): Woman says she was raped by Military Sealift captain in lawsuit. “Elsie E. Dominguez, a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, says she was working as the civilian 1st Assistant Engineer aboard the USNS Carson City when she was raped by the vessel’s captain and that Navy and Military Sealift Command (MSC) officials failed to protect her from sexual assault, according to a complaint filed in New Jersey federal court.