A 23-year-old American woman from Boynton Beach has been awarded $70 million in a yacht rape case three years ago. Damages were awarded to Island Girl, the charter company that owns the ship, for failing to provide the necessary safety conditions on board.
In February 2015, the girl was working as a stewardess on the 130-foot luxury yacht Endless Summer when her stateroom was broken into by deck sailor Dowgwillowicz-Nowicki. Threatening her with death, the 39-year-old man, who had been drinking heavily, raped his victim for over an hour before she managed to break free and escape.
The captain was also on the boat, which was moored in Fort Lauderdale at the time, but he could not hear the screams because of the size of the boat.
«This is safety point 101, so that in case of fire, injury or any other danger there was a way to call for help," the lawyer commented. - Although Michael Pool (owner of the charter company) spent about $10 million to buy the yacht and another $10 million to upgrade it, he took no steps to provide the crew with the equipment needed for safety».
The lawsuit was initially set at $25 million, but under the circumstances, the court ordered the company to pay about three times as much: $4 million to cover income lost by the victim and $66 million for emotional damages.
In addition, the girl has already received compensation of $290 thousand for medical expenses.
Daugvillovich-Nowicki, who turned out to be a citizen of Poland, claimed that everything was by mutual consent. However, he was found guilty and spent two years in an American prison before being deported to his home country.
