A woman who stayed at a Ritz-Carlton near San Francisco, USA, has taken legal action against the luxury hotel as she alleges that a male hotel staff member served her a water bottle she believes contained semen.
The woman named Jane Doe had reserved a room at the prestigious Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay with her husband in November 2022 to celebrate her birthday.
During her four-night stay, she claims she experienced a "sexual assault and exploitation" after a hotel employee provided her with a water bottle that she contends held semen.
In her legal complaint, the woman claims that "An employee of the hotel ejaculated into a water bottle labeled as Ritz-Carlton, delivered it to Jane and John Doe's room, and Jane Doe consumed the water contaminated with semen before realizing it had been tainted by an individual of criminal intent."
According to court documents, Doe felt mortified, terrified, embarrassed, and humiliated, but she shared her suspicions with her husband who subsequently reached out to both the hotel and local law enforcement.
The police did respond to the incident but did not initiate a formal investigation.
In contrast, the Ritz-Carlton took the step of sending the water bottle to a laboratory for analysis and the tests confirmed the presence of semen as outlined in court documents.
In her legal case, Jane Doe has also asserted that she suffered emotional distress and sought therapy as a result of the experience.
The legal filing points out that "To add to the distress, the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott International have declined to provide Jane and John Doe with a copy of the actual laboratory results regarding the implicated water bottle."
The complainant has been emotionally troubled, worried about the potential transmission of a sexually-transmitted virus.
The progress of the law enforcement investigation has been hindered because the hotel has refused to provide the contaminated water bottle, according to court papers.
The lawsuit alleges that "The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott International have also withheld information about the identities of the hotel employees on duty that day, preventing their backgrounds and criminal histories from being examined."
In response, the Ritz-Carlton offered the couple a limited amount of Marriott rewards points.
The lawsuit has been filed to pursue claims of sexual battery and negligence, and it seeks a jury trial to address the case.
