Elsie Dominguez, a civilian engineer working aboard the U.S. Navy ship Carson City, alleged that she was raped by the ship’s captain, Sanchez Padilla, while unconscious in her stateroom in December 2021. She sued the U.S. government, arguing that institutional failures, which included inadequate protections and responses to her report, contributed to the assault and its aftermath – particularly her post-incident trauma. A federal judge has recently dismissed Dominguez’s lawsuit after the claim was accepted under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act as a compensable workplace injury, leaving workers’ compensation as her only legal remedy. Dominguez has strongly disputed the characterization of the alleged rape as occurring in the performance of her professional duties. When filing her attorneys claimed that Dominguez was “unequivocally not engaged in the performance of her work duties when she was raped in her bed, while unconscious, after a social outing and while off-duty.”
Dominguez and Padilla interacted a few times prior to the alleged assault, but ultimately Dominguez had made it clear to Padilla that she did not want to pursue a romantic and/or sexual relationship with the captain. One night Dominguez had a self-professed small amount of alcohol while out with the captain and a couple of other crew mates. Vomiting on herself in the restaurant and then being escorted back to her chambers before passing out is all she remembered before awaking to the captain on top of her and penetrating her while pinning her arms down. Dominguez believes she was drugged and has accused Padilla of using his master key code to access her room later that night. In the lawsuit’s filing it is alleged that Padilla sent Dominguez a series of text messages, phoned her at least 14 times, and called her a “weak person” prior to the alleged assault. After the incident it is alleged that Padilla texted Dominguez to say he was “so embarrassed by what I did to you that I do not even have the strength to see you face to face. I hope that someday you can forgive me. You have a very special place in my heart and I appreciate you very much.”
Although authorities found sufficient grounds to allege that the captain had engaged in a sexual act with a crewmember who was unable to consent, no criminal charges were ultimately filed, prompting Dominguez to launch her civil lawsuit. The accused captain avoided a criminal trial by voluntarily forfeiting his credentials, an exchange that is currently protected by military law. Padilla may be able to reapply for his license and captain a ship in the future.
This case raises broader questions about whether the workers’ compensation system provides appropriate remedies for employees who experience sexual assault in the workplace. It also highlights the legal obstacles faced by people seeking to hold military institutions accountable. It’s worth noting that in June of 2026 two senators introduced bipartisan legislation – The Military Sexual Trauma Accountability Act – that would allow American service members to sue the military over sexual misconduct. At present a 1950 Supreme Court decision obstructs US service members from doing so. A Democratic Senate aide estimated to CNN that it is likely that “there would be 120,000 people who would file successful claims under this bill” within the first decade of the legislation being active. We will certainly keep a close eye on this proposed bill.
