Cruise Ship Passenger Beats Woman Unconscious, Only Gets 2 Months In Jail

A New York man that assaulted, bloodied and beat a woman unconscious aboard the cruise ship, Norwegian Gem, on April 25, 2019 has received an unusually light sentence for his crime. Norwegian Gem is a Jewel-class cruise ship of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) based in Florida.

Adam Panetta, 45, of Farmingville, New York was sentenced to only two months in prison, two years of supervised release and a $1,000 fine by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

Panetta pleaded guilty to one count of assault resulting in substantial bodily injury on September 2019. He was arrested when Norwegian Gem arrived into port in Boston and was subsequently charged. At the time of the assault, Norwegian Gem was 200 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.

Court records show Panetta was observed on the ship's surveillance video pulling a woman, apparently his companion, by her hair down the full length of a hallway. The two were then seen outside one of the cabins. The woman struck Panetta in the face as Panetta attempted to open a cabin door. The assailant then punched the woman twice in the side of her head. The woman fell to the ground, apparently unconscious.

Panetta then entered the cabin and left the woman on the floor in the hallway. After one minute, Panetta exited the cabin and looked at the still unconscious woman. The woman began to crawl into the room. Panetta kicked the woman twice in the buttocks as she crawled into the room and then followed her.

The two left the room a short while later. The woman was holding a white towel stained with blood over her head. The two went to the ship’s medical center where the woman was treated for her injuries. She had swelling on the right side of her head, and a 2.5 cm-long laceration requiring five stitches.