FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A mother will not face criminal charges after her 5-year-old daughter fell off Disney’s Dream cruise ship over the summer as it was traveling in international waters, the Broward County State Attorney’s Office confirmed this week.
According to a memo from Assistant State Attorney Melissa Kelly, the mother, Michelle Sapp, was taking photos of her daughter on the morning of June 29 on Deck 4 when her daughter climbed onto the railing and sat down, facing her mother.
Prosecutors said the child then lost her balance and fell backwards through a large porthole-type window, falling about 49 feet down into the ocean.
Sapp screamed and her husband, who was about 10 feet ahead of them, jumped overboard to rescue his daughter as Sapp tried to get help from crew members, authorities said.
According to the memo, Sapp told investigators after returning to Port Everglades that she believed the window had a glass barrier as she had taken numerous photos of her daughter before on the ship in front of similar windows that had glass barriers.
Prosecutors said the ship’s Man Overboard sensors did not go off when the child fell into the water because of her small size, but were activated when her father jumped in.
According to the memo, it took a rescue boat about three minutes to launch after a mayday call was issued, and the father and daughter were rescued from the water about nine minutes after that.
The father told investigators that he called out to his daughter when he landed in the water and she responded. After locating her in the water, he held onto her as he treaded water. Flotation devices were then thrown down from surrounding areas to assist them until the rescue boat could reach them.
According to the memo, the girl’s mother said her daughter has taken swim lessons before but did not know how to swim.
The father and daughter were checked out at the ship’s medical center before being transported to Broward Health Medical Center by BSO Fire Rescue after arriving at Port Everglades.
According to the memo, the child “presented mild hypothermia and minor lactic acidosis, however she sustained no injuries.” The memo stated that the father was diagnosed with hypothermia, lactic acidosis and had two spinal fractures from jumping overboard.
Kelly stated in the memo that while Sapp’s actions were “arguably negligent and irresponsible, it does not rise to the egregious level of conduct necessary to establish criminal culpable negligence.”
Kelly concluded the memo by stating, “Therefore, in light of the facts of this case along with the relevant case law, I am declining one count of Child Neglect Without Great Bodily Harm.”
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