TWO stepbrothers have been charged with rape after allegedly tricking a woman by switching places during sex on a cruise.
A 25-year-old woman told police in the Bahamas that she consented to sex with Sayjuan Readous, 26, after joining him in his cabin on board the Carnival Sunrise.
But when the victim, from Miami, Florida, turned on the lights she allegedly discovered she was in bed with a different man.
Carnival staff were alerted to the incident after reports of screaming coming from the eighth-deck cabin after the Sunrise left Eleuthera in the Bahamas on December 15.
They found the partially dressed woman who was examined by a doctor before police boarded the mega-liner the next morning in Nassau and arrested the stepbrothers.
Investigators believe that Readous slipped out of the room while the woman was sleeping before his brother Antoine Flowers Jr., 28, switched in his place.
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The woman told officers she struck up a romantic connection with Readous while she was on the cruise with her family.
They swapped numbers and shared drinks by the pool before heading back to his room.
It is alleged that Readous then left the room saying he needed to run an errand and the woman fell asleep.
When she woke up she found someone in bed with her and they had sex.
But it was only when she turned on the lights that ‘she realised it was his brother’, according to a police source.
Readous and Flowers, both from Detroit, Michigan, appeared in court on Monday charged with rape. Readous faces an additional charge of abetment to rape.
The pair were remanded in custody over the alleged attack.
Both men were denied bail by Magistrate Abigail Farrington and are next due to appear in court on March 26.
A Carnival spokesperson told The Sun said: “After being notified of an alleged assault involving a guest, our onboard team immediately conducted a medical evaluation, collected evidence, and provided support to the guest.
“The matter has been turned over to law enforcement authorities in the Bahamas, and we will defer to their investigation for any further comment.”
This comes after the disturbing death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner on the Carnival Horizon – a case that reignited scrutiny over cruise ship safety.
Kepnera beloved senior cheerleader at a high school in central Florida, was discovered dead in her cabin with her body concealed under a bed.
despite the widespread reporting of the disturbing details surrounding Kepner’s death, the FBI has not publicly commented on the case.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office has also not disclosed Kepner’s cause or manner of death.
Kepner’s cause of death was reported as “mechanical asphyxia,” ABC News reported, citing a copy of her death certificate provided by the family.