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 the Labor Department determined her claim must be handled under the federal workers' compensation system rather than through the courts.

Elsie Dominguez, 35, spent more than two years seeking accountability after she alleged that 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 dismissal ends her civil lawsuit against the federal government, with her claim instead directed into the federal workers' compensation system. Dominguez said the legal fight also led her to take a year of unpaid leave, during which her health insurance was paused.

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.

Claim Sent to Workers' Compensation System

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

The Labor Department determined that the claim fell under FECA and should be handled through the federal workers' compensation system rather than the courts.

Her lawyer, Christine Dunn, argued that 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.

The Coast Guard filed an administrative sexual misconduct complaint against him in February 2025, but the proceeding was later withdrawn after he surrendered his Merchant Mariner Credential.

The Coast Guard proceeding ended without a hearing or findings on the merits. Sanchez Padilla acknowledged having sexual intercourse with Dominguez but maintained that the encounter was consensual.

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 remain underrepresented.

'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.