A crew member aboard the cruise ship Celebrity Equinox was arrested and charged with raping a fellow colleague while the vessel was en route to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. According to the local media outlets the crew member Louie Ison Mangampat, from the Philippines was charged with aggravated sexual abuse by force, stated in the affidavit by an FBI agent.

Based on the court documents Cruise Law News revealed the details about what happen on the night of the assault. On September 25, Louie Mangampat together with several other fellow crew members gathered in a crew cabin after their shift ended. Then he forced a female crew member into the bathroom, where he locked her inside and began “groping her against her active resistance” and finally rape her.

The victim, who has not been identified, managed to escape and got out of the bathroom running to her friend’s cabin where they reported the assault to the ship's security. After she was taken to the ship's infirmary where the doctor observed and recorded blood and internal physical injuries to the woman.

When the ship arrived in St. Thomas the crew member was handed over to the U.S. Virgin Islands authorities. During the interrogation, the crew member admitted “having sex” with the crew member but claimed that it was consensual. 

The prosecutor said that the assault is of most serious and disturbing nature and that the crew member posed a danger to the community in light of his actions.

Cruise Law News reports that Louie Mangampat was working as a sushi cook for Celebrity Cruises.