Blue state woman drank 'semen-contaminated' water served at Half Moon Bay Ritz-Carlton hotel: lawsuit

(KRON) — Last year in November, a woman and her husband booked a 
room at The Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, expecting a relaxing 
four-night stay at the luxurious five-star hotel. What was supposed 
to be a fun stay to celebrate the wife’s birthday turned out to be a 
horrific experience.

The woman, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, drank “semen-
contaminated” water served by a Ritz-Carlton staffer, according to a 
lawsuit Doe filed this month to the United States District Court for 
the Northern District of California. She says she was sexually 
assaulted and exploited due to the hotel’s own negligence from this 
incident.

The lawsuit claims one of the hotel’s employees “ejaculated his 
semen” into a Ritz-Carlton-labeled water bottle and delivered it to 
the married couple’s room. Doe drank the water bottle and realized 
she may have ingested semen, prompting her and her husband to 
contact hotel management and local police.

Ritz-Carlton sent the bottle allegedly containing the bodily fluid 
to a laboratory for testing. Results confirmed the water bottled 
contained semen, the lawsuit said. However, the hotel refused to 
provide a copy of the lab test results to Doe and her husband, so 
they could share them with their medical providers.

Doe feared she may test positive for “some kind of sexually-
transmitted virus” after ingesting the defiled water bottle, the 
lawsuit continues. Her husband “has been frustrated by thoughts of 
his inability to protect his wife, particularly from sexual assault, 
and the incident has negatively impacted their intimacy and the 
emotional depth of their relationship.”

In an attempt to compensate for the guests’ troubles, the hotel 
offered Marriot rewards points.

The couple was not satisfied with the compensation offered to them, 
according to the lawsuit. The plaintiff said it could “only be used 
for another anxiety-inducing stay at a Ritz-Carlton property.”

In addition, Ritz-Carlton did not apprehend the assailant, the hotel 
employee, responsible for the incident. The lawsuit claims the hotel 
was “plainly negligent” in its inspection of hotel-branded food and 
beverages served to guests.

The married couple were visiting Half Moon Bay from Washington 
state. They were visiting their daughter who attended a nearby 
university. According to the lawsuit, the couple has been loyal 
customers of the company. They have spent at least 600 nights at 
Marriot-branded hotels, which include Ritz-Carlton properties.

The full 30-page lawsuit can be viewed below.

https://www.kron4.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/10/JANE-DOE-
and-JOHN-DOE-COMPLAINT-f-1.pdf

The Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay is located at 1 Miramontes Point 
Road.

KRON4 reached out to The Ritz-Carlton and the San Mateo County 
Sheriff’s Office for further comment. We are waiting to hear back.

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