By David Lohr

October 24, 2007

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WASHINGTON (Crime Library) — In February 2006, 36-year-old Laurie Dishman and her best friend, Michelle, decided to celebrate their 30-year friendship by embarking on a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Mexican Riviera. However, instead of seven days of fun in the sun, the trip quickly turned into a nightmare, when an employee of the cruise line allegedly raped Laurie in her cabin. As horrible as that crime may have been, it was only the beginning of a long road involving allegations of misconduct and a possible cover-up by employees of the cruise line.

Laurie and Michelle

According to Laurie, the cruise began just as she and Michelle had expected, and the girls treated themselves to all that the ship had to offer. They enjoyed dinners, shows and relaxing evenings in the lounges. However, on Feb. 21, 2006, the trip took a disastrous turn.

Viking Crown Lounge

"Michelle and I were in the Viking Crown Lounge, when we were approached by a crew member, whose badge indicated that he was a security guard," Laurie wrote in a public statement posted to Internationalcruisevictims.org. "He demanded to see our IDs and asked whether we were old enough to be drinking in the bar. He [also] asked for our cabin number."

Laurie and Michelle brushed off the incident and continued to enjoy their evening at the lounge. However, not long thereafter, the same security guard allegedly approached Laurie a second time.

"He approached me and held my wrist and kissed me, while trying to whisper something in my ear. I said, 'No, get away.' Then, I headed back to be with Michelle [to] get away from this man. I was upset, so Michelle brought me back to my cabin."

Once back in the safety of her cabin, Laurie decided to call it a night and went to bed, while her friend returned to the lounge. An hour or so later, Laurie was awakened by a knock on her cabin door.

"She thought it was her cabin mate returning, and there are no peep holes or chain locks, so she opened the door, and he (the security guard) came in," Laurie's attorney, James M. Walker, said in a telephone interview with Crime Library yesterday evening. "She remembers him coming in and forcing himself upon her and applying pressure up around her neck before she passed out. She later woke up with bruises around her neck."

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Contact David Lohr at  crimewriter74@adelphia.net

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