Woman claims her water at Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay hotel ‘defiled’ by ‘criminal deviant’ worker

Police say they responded but did not investigate

In a lawsuit, a guest at the high-end Ritz-Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay claims that a worker brought her a water bottle contaminated with sperm, and that testing confirmed the contamination.

The Washington woman, identified as “Jane Doe,” was celebrating her birthday last November with a four-night stay at the oceanfront hotel, where rooms start at around $800 per night, according to the lawsuit she filed with her husband of 25 years, identified as “John Doe.”

“The couple intended to celebrate her special day at a special place,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed this month in U.S. District Court in Oakland.

According to the lawsuit, after the couple returned to their room after a Friday night dinner, Jane called the front desk to request bottled water.

According to the lawsuit, a male worker “moments later” brought several bottles with the Ritz-Carlton logo, which Jane placed on her nightstand before going to bed.

She awoke thirsty in the middle of the night, grabbed a bottle, “took a drink, and immediately knew that something was wrong with the liquid she had just swallowed,” according to the lawsuit.

“One of the hotel’s employees ejaculated his semen into a Ritz-Carlton labeled water bottle, delivered it to Jane and John Doe’s room, and Jane Doe then drank the semen-contaminated water before she realized it had been defiled by a criminal deviant,” according to the complaint.

According to the lawsuit, Jane called hotel security and went to the front desk with a security staffer, and John asked the Ritz-Carlton to call the police and keep the bottle secure for investigation.

According to the lawsuit, a San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived and took a statement from Jane.

Jane claimed in her lawsuit that she initially thought the water was “chemically contaminated” and that when she met with hotel staff and management, she “began to realize” the taste was “similar to semen.” At that juncture, she “shared her suspicion with her husband, who then asked the hotel security and management representatives to call the police.”

The officer who came to the hotel told John that the investigation had stalled because the hotel companies “refused to turn over the defiled water bottle,” according to the lawsuit.

“Consequently, law enforcement authorities have been precluded from conducting their own analysis of that evidence, and precluded from cross-referencing the DNA against sex offender registries and other law enforcement databases,” according to the complaint. “The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott International have also refused to disclose the identities of the hotel employees on duty that day so that their backgrounds and criminal histories can be scrutinized.”

Sgt. Javier Acosta of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said the department conducted a “welfare check” at the hotel on a woman who claimed she drank from a bottle with water that tasted like chlorine. According to Acosta, the woman refused medical attention and turned down an offer to involve a poison control center.

“An investigation was not conducted on this matter,” Acosta said in a statement.

A claims adjuster for the hotel’s parent company, Marriott International, confirmed by phone about two months after the alleged incident that “lab tests had revealed that the fluid in the water bottle had been defiled with semen,” according to the lawsuit.

Requests for comment were not returned by the Ritz-Carlton or Marriott.

The lawsuit accuses The Ritz-Carlton of sexual assault and negligence, and claims that the alleged assailant victimized “countless other guests” in a similar manner. The couple is seeking unspecified monetary damages.