Former USNS Carson City skipper accused of 2021 rape surrenders license

Three years after the captain of a military sealift command ship was accused of raping an assistant engineer in her quarters during a port visit, he has left the merchant mariner field — and, for the first time, been publicly identified. Yamil Sanchez Padilla was serving as captain of the USNS Carson City in December 2021, when engineer Elsie Dominguez accused him of forcing his way into her cabin while she was intoxicated and raping her. Padilla voluntarily surrendered his merchant mariner credential to the Coast Guard on March 14, according to a document posted by the nonprofit organization Maritime Legal Aid and Advocacy . He relinquished the credential due to “being advised that I am currently under investigation for sexual assault ,” the document states. A Coast Guard case concerning the investigation was withdrawn and closed March 19, according to a service administrative law judge docket also first reported on by Maritime Legal Aid. A lawyer for Dominguez says he will continue to pursue criminal accountability for Sanchez Padilla, with hopes for success bolstered by investigative findings that include the former skipper’s voluntary admission that he did have intercourse with Dominguez on the night in question. Dominguez first filed a complaint against Military Sealift Command in November 2023 , alleging the command had failed to adequately protect her and that the victims’ advocates she’d sought out had warned her that she risked losing her job if she reported the alle…