Engineer Says She Was Raped in Bed Aboard US Navy Ship — Judge Dismisses Lawsuit as Workers' Comp Case

A civilian engineer who says she was raped in her own bed aboard a US Navy transport ship has had her lawsuit against the federal government dismissed, after a judge ruled the attack must be treated as a workers' compensation matter rather than a legal claim.

Elsie Dominguez, 35, spent more than two years fighting for accountability after she said the captain of the USNS Carson City used a master key to enter her private cabin and rape her while she slept in December 2021, according to Stars and Stripes.

The case's dismissal this month closes a legal battle that saw her take a year of unpaid leave and lose her health insurance while pursuing justice.

Assault Reported Through Proper Channels

Dominguez was serving as first assistant engineer aboard the Carson City, an expeditionary fast transport vessel, when the alleged attack took place. She reported it the next morning through proper procedures, according to her 2023 lawsuit against the federal government, which accused the Navy of failing to protect her.

'I've lost a lot of sleep, I've lost a lot of friends who didn't agree with what I was doing in coming forward,' Dominguez said.

Rape Reclassified as Workplace Injury

In 2024, a court ordered the Labor Department to determine whether the assault should be handled under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, since it happened while Dominguez was on temporary travel status for work.

The department ruled that it should, effectively reclassifying the case as a workplace injury claim rather than a matter for the courts.

Her lawyer, Christine Dunn, argued the ruling conflated genuine workplace accidents with sexual violence. 'Those are injuries that happen in the course of performing your duties on a ship. That is very different from being raped in your sleep in your bed. That should not be workers' comp,' Dunn said. Dunn added that the fight still counted for something.

'Things don't change unless someone's willing to fight, and, no, we didn't ultimately have a success here, but I think every time someone like Elsie is brave enough to raise their hand and fight injustice, it makes a difference,' she said, describing the case as making 'a dent in the institutional indifference' to such behaviour.

Captain's Case Withdrawn Without Finding

The ship's captain, Yamil Sanchez Padilla, was removed from the vessel and placed on paid administrative leave while investigators looked into Dominguez's allegations. Coast Guard prosecutors filed a sexual misconduct complaint against him in February 2025, but the criminal case was later withdrawn.

Sanchez Padilla instead surrendered his merchant mariner credentials, according to Dunn. No finding of guilt was made against Sanchez Padilla, and he has not admitted liability.

Life After the Ruling

Dominguez lived in the cabin where the alleged rape happened for nearly two years, though she was eventually able to have a deadbolt fitted.

She struggled to access consistent therapy because state licensing rules restrict where patients and providers can be based, and military hotlines could only refer her to therapists at other overseas bases she wasn't assigned to.

'I wasn't afforded the chance to be on land and to just walk into a therapist's office,' she said.

Her year of unpaid leave brought its own financial strain when her health insurance lapsed alongside it. 'That year was also me trying to find myself and a way to keep moving forward,' she said.

Now working as first assistant engineer aboard the USS Lewis B. Puller, Dominguez said the public nature of her case has changed how colleagues treat her, in an industry where women are already scarce.

'There's less opportunity for any type of bonding or camaraderie,' she said. 'It's a lonelier world than it already was.'

The ruling highlights a legal grey area facing civilian federal workers who report sexual assault while on duty overseas. For civilian mariners serving aboard Military Sealift Command's roughly 130 ships worldwide, the case raises questions about what protections exist when the alleged perpetrator is a superior with access to their living quarters.