A Washington State couple is suing the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay, California after the woman allegedly woke up in the middle of the night, took a sip from a bottle of water and discovered it was contaminated with semen, according to reports.
FOX 2 in San Francisco, California reported that the couple, only identified as Jane and John Doe, arrived at the oceanfront luxurious Half Moon Bay resort for the weekend of Nov. 18, 2022, so they could spend time with their daughter who was a student at a nearby university, for the holiday.
The couple also wanted to celebrate "Jane's" birthday, but their plans took a turn for the worse after sipping the contaminated water. Now the couple is suing the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC, Marriott International, Inc. and unnamed defendants for damages.
Does were Served by a Male Employee
The couple chose not to identify themselves in the lawsuit for fear they could be harassed, ridiculed, injured or embarrassed because of the content of the suit.
The lawsuit claims the couple had a typical start to their vacation at the resort. The staff greeted them when they arrived, and all was well.
But, on Nov. 18, the Does called the front desk for bottled water as they ran out and a male employee showed up to the room with five bottles of water.
A little while later, a male employee showed up to the room and had five bottles. The couple "had no reason" to believe the bottles were "tampered with and defiled," when they were dropped off.
Jane went to sleep and in the middle of the night woke up and reached for one of the bottles that were dropped off earlier. In the lawsuit, Jane claimed to know something was wrong with the water and immediately contacted hotel security and management.
Water Confirmed to Have Been 'Defiled with Semen'
She claimed in the suit that the taste of the water and texture were off, at first suspecting the water was chemically contaminated before suspecting the water had semen in it.
In the lawsuit, the Does claim "one of the hotel's employees ejaculated his semen into a Ritz-Carlton labeled water bottle, delivered it to Jane and John Doe's room, and Jane Doe then drank the semen-contaminated water before she realized it had been defiled by a criminal deviant and that she had been sexually assaulted."
A claim adjuster confirmed with the couple on Jan. 12, 2023, that the water was "defiled with semen," according to the lawsuit. The couple also claims they asked the resort to turn over the bottle, but officials there have allegedly refused to do so.
Ritz-Carlton's Lack of Co-operation Stalled Investigation, Alleges Suit
The couple said in the lawsuit that the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office's investigation stalled because of the lack of cooperation from the hotel when it came to turning over the bottle.
While seeking an independent investigation from the local law enforcement into the DNA samples, so they can be cross-checked against sex offender registries to possibly identify the suspect, the couple also wants the hotel's hiring practices to be scrutinized because a "criminal deviant" was able to sexually assault Jane Doe.
"Defendants acted wrongfully, maliciously, intentionally, and negligently, the lawsuit reads, suggesting the company is not accepting responsibility for what occurred.
The couple has been married for 25 years and claims the incident caused intimacy issues in their married life, the lawsuit notes, and they claim the hotel offered them points when they told staff about their concerns.
