- The suspects boarded the MSC Seaside cruise ship in Marseille last week.
- They were detained over the weekend when the ship docked in the port of Genoa.
Three Frenchmen who allegedly gang-raped a 19-year-old woman aboard a cruise ship were arrested in Italy after the ship arrived in port following the attack.
The suspects boarded the MSC Seaside cruise ship in Marseille – one of the ship’s six stops on its circuit of the Balearic and Tyrrhenian Seas – on Friday, days after the alleged victim boarded in Civitavecchia, a port city just northwest of Rome.
He embarked on the cruise as part of a school trip and spent several days on the ship with his classmates before his three alleged attackers came aboard.
Hours after boarding the MSC Seaside, the three perpetrators are said to have lured the young passenger into their cabin before forcing her into the locked room.
The traumatized girl later reported her ordeal to the ship’s captain, who in turn notified authorities before arriving in Genoa port over the weekend.
The suspects boarded the MSC Seaside cruise ship on Friday.
Hours after boarding the MSC Seaside, the three perpetrators are said to have lured the young passenger into their cabin before forcing her into the locked room.
MSC Seaside tours the Western Mediterranean, the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Balearic Islands, calling at several ports in Spain, France and Italy
Upon arrival at port, the ship was locked and no passengers were allowed to disembark while Italian police arrested the three suspects, interviewed the victim and obtained footage from the ship’s security cameras.
The suspects will remain detained in Genoa while the investigation into the incident continues. It is not clear if the victim also disembarked in Genoa.
Meanwhile, the MSC Seaside has continued its journey and will soon head to Ibiza after arriving at the port of Palermo in Sicily today.
The shocking incident comes just weeks after a British tourist was raped aboard a cruise ship in March, and police in Mallorca arrested a Kenyan man on board the ship.
The 27-year-old man was detained when the ship, called MSC Fantasia, docked in the island’s capital, Palma, from Naples, Italy, on March 15.
A 33-year-old passenger from the UK alleged she had been raped at sea.
The Kenyan was not identified but was described locally as an entertainer on the cruise.
Local reports said the suspect and the alleged victim had been dancing together before the alleged rape.
The man was later released on bail after appearing in court. It was not immediately clear if he was allowed to leave Mallorca or if he had to surrender his passport.
A 27-year-old man was arrested when the MSC Fantasia docked in Palma on March 15 following a complaint from a British passenger who claimed to have been raped.
A 33-year-old British passenger reported having been raped at sea.
Local reports said the detained man had refused to answer questions from a judge who attempted to question him.
The British woman left the ship to be examined at a hospital and give a statement to the police.
MSC Fantasia was making a similar round trip around the Western Mediterranean, but her ports of call differed somewhat from those of MSC Seaside.
An MSC Cruises spokesperson said: “We are aware of the incident that was reported on board MSC Fantasia.
‘This was reported to the appropriate law enforcement authorities and we are assisting with their investigation.
‘The safety of our passengers is our number one priority. We have an inflexible code of conduct and do not tolerate any behavior that puts our passengers at risk.
“As there is an ongoing criminal investigation, we cannot comment further.”
