‘Drunk’ Carnival cruise passenger allegedly stomped fiancée, threw her down ship’s stairs

A Georgia man is accused of sexually assaulting his fiancée aboard a cruise to Mexico, brutally stomping her as she tried to get away, then throwing her down a flight of stairs while horrified passengers looked on, according to an FBI probable cause affidavit reviewed by The Independent.Following an argument severe enough that officials on the Carnival Paradise were forced to put the couple in separate rooms, the pair’s “drinking privileges” were taken away for the rest of the cruise, states the affidavit, which was filed July 30 in Tampa federal court alongside a criminal complaint charging Noah Alexander Cox, 28, with assault by striking, beating, or wounding committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.The day after the argument, the two went ashore together in Cozumel, where Cox “wanted to take full advantage of the ability to drink,” the affidavit contends. While there, it says Cox and his fiancée, who is not identified by name in court papers, had “numerous drinks” before they once again started to bicker, and returned to the ship separately. When Cox later showed up at her stateroom, she turned him away “because of his level of intoxication and their prior arguments,” according to the affidavit.But, it alleges, Cox pushed his way in and violated his unwilling fiancée, after which he doused her in lotion and walked out into the hallway, shirtless, the affidavit goes on. His fiancée soon emerged and approached Cox, who responded by “deliver[ing] a kick to [her] midsection, which caused her to fall to the ground,” according to the affidavit. The Carnival Paradise was the scene of a disturbing series of allegations involving a passenger and his fiancée (Creative Commons)Cox’s fiancée managed to get up and follow Cox to a nearby stairwell, where he “threw [the woman] down the stairs onto the landing below.” She struggled to stand, collapsing back to the floor as Cox “continued down the stairs.” The entire sequence of events was captured on surveillance video, the affidavit says.Cox, who was arrested Thursday, does not yet have an attorney listed in court records and was unable to be reached for comment.When the 855-foot, 2,100-passenger Paradise returned to the Port of Tampa on July 30 following a four-day sail, the cruise line’s security department contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to report that a passenger, later identified as Cox, had allegedly assaulted and battered a woman on the ship, according to the affidavit. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office called in the FBI, which has jurisdiction over crimes occurring at sea, and interviewed the woman, who told agents that she and Cox had gotten engaged to be married prior to the cruise, the affidavit continues.Shortly after leaving Tampa, the affidavit says the two – who were sharing stateroom R27, an interior cabin on the Riviera Deck – got into an argument so disruptive that security became involved. “[T]hey were issued separate rooms by the staff aboard the ship,” the affidavit states. “[Cox’s fiancée] was relocated to room 189 and Cox stayed in their original R27 room. Their drinking privileges were revoked for the entirety of the cruise for safety reasons.”The Carnival Paradise left the Port of Tampa for Cozumel, where Noah Alexander Cox, 28, allegedly became drunk, disorderly, and violent toward his fiancée upon their return to the ship that afternoon (Creative Commons)The next day, during a port call in Cozumel, Cox and his fiancée went ashore to go barhopping, according to the affidavit. However, it says, the day ended in a drunken spat between the two, and Cox and the fiancée both went back to the ship on their own.FBi agents viewed onboard security video, which showed Cox showing up outside his fiancée’s stateroom at roughly 5:30 p.m., the affidavit states. Cox knocked on the door, but his fiancée, who told the FBI she was inside at the time, refused to open it.“At approximately 5:38 p.m., Cox is seen kicking the door and ramming his shoulder into it, trying to force entry inside,” the affidavit alleges. “This was followed by Cox trying to use a key card to access the cabin and soliciting passersby to assist him in knocking on the door.”At 5:46 p.m., the fiancée cracked open the door, and Cox pushed his way in, according to the affidavit. At 6:07 p.m. it says Cox can be seen leaving the room and making his way down the hallway, bare-chested, with a towel over his shoulder. “At about this same time, [Cox’s fiancée] exited the room and followed Cox down the hallway,” the affidavit states. “When [the fiancée] 1 approached Cox, he delivered a kick to [her] midsection, which caused her to fall to the ground. [The fiancée] got up and continued to follow Cox until they reached a stairwell. Once there, Cox threw [his fiancée] down the stairs onto the landing below. [She] got up briefly then fell back onto the floor until she was questioned by other guests in the area.”Cox and his fiancée went ashore in Cozumel, Mexico, before he brutally assaulted her upon their return to the ship, according to court papers (AFP via Getty Images)Cox’s fiancée filled in the blanks for agents, telling them she had not wanted to open the door for him “because of his level of intoxication and their prior arguments,” and that she tried to close it again but was unsuccessful. Once Cox got inside, the couple began to have consensual sex, but that Cox quickly became abusive, held her down, and, at this point, the interaction became non-consensual, according to the fiancée."This is what you wanted, right?" Cox allegedly yelled at her.The affidavit says that when Cox was finished, “For a reason unknown to her, [he] poured lotion all over her.”Afterward, Cox’s fiancée said she “sat on the ground and cried,” then ran down the hallway to confront Cox, finally ending up at the foot of the stairs with contusions to her arms, legs, feet, shoulder and buttocks. She sought medical treatment aboard the ship, and infirmary staff collected evidence using a rape kit, which was subsequently provided to the FBI, the affidavit states.The interviewing agent took photos of the “multiple bruises,” which Cox’s fiancée “confirmed [had been] obtained due to [him] throwing her on the ground, kicking her, and grabbing her,” according to the affidavit.Cox was taken into FBI custody, refusing to speak to agents without a lawyer present. He “did not appear to have any physical injuries on his person,” the affidavit concludes.If convicted, Cox faces up to a year in prison. It is unclear if he and his fiancée remain engaged.