Source: www.cruisejunkie.com
Sexual Assaults at Sea, 2009 - 2012
Publicly Reported Incidents and Reports to the FBI (October 2007 - January 2008 -- not all listed yet)
|
Date |
Ship Cruise Line |
Description |
Type of Incident |
| July 31 | Star Princess Princess Cruises |
The Anchorage Daily News reports Alaska State Troopers looked into a report that two crewmen sexually assaulted another crew member Monday between Seattle and Juneau, but the victim recanted her earlier statement. The reported assault occurred between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. Monday aboard the MV Star Princess as the ship was in Chatham Strait, troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said. Troopers identified two suspects, Ipsen said. Alcohol had been involved, she said. After making the report, starting the troopers' investigation, the woman "indicated she no longer wanted to pursue the matter with law enforcement," according to a written statement from Princess Public Relations Media Information Specialist Susanne Ferrull.. "In this particular case, the only evidence we have is the victim's statement. Without that we are unable to move forward with this case," an Alaska trooper spokesperson said. "However, if new information emerges, that could change." | Sexual assault of crew |
| July 19 | Carnival Dream Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Virgin Islands Daily News reports a 19-year-old Kentucky man pleaded not guilty in District Court Wednesday to sexual assault with intent to commit a felony. Conner Layne was arrested following an 18-year-old woman's complaint that he tried to rape her. The cruise ship docked at Havensight on June 4, but the alleged encounter took place while the ship was in international waters on the same date, according to court documents. According to an affidavit written by FBI special agent Rafael Fernandez, an 18-year-old woman told Fernandez she and Layne were having drinks in the ship's club Tuesday when Layne invited her back to his room. Once there, she had another drink and sat on the bed, and she and Layne began kissing and Layne started "touching her about the body," according to the affidavit. Layne then forcibly "held her down, pulled up her dress, pulled down her underwear and penetrated her with his penis," the victim told Fernandez. The woman said that because Layne was intoxicated, she was able to push him off of her, and she ran out of the room, the affidavit states. District Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller advised Layne of his rights June 5, and he was released from custody after posting a $10,000 unsecured appearance bond. Layne has been allowed to return to his home in Kentucky but had to provide DNA samples as a condition of his release. | Alleged rape of 18 year old |
| July 13 | Celebrity Century Celebrity Cruises |
Cruise Law News reports on what is being described as an alleged sexual assault by a thirty year old man against a 12 year old girl on a cruise ship operated by Celebrity Cruises. KTOO states that a "30-year-old Japanese man allegedly groped a Canadian girl near the pool of a Celebrity cruise ship on June 28th. The alleged attack took place after the ship had departed Ketchikan, but while it was still in Alaska waters." The incident was reported to ship security who apparently did not detain the man but reported the incident to the Vancouver Police Department. Vancouver authorities initially investigated but turned the matter over to the the FBI, The FBI, in turn, then referred the case to Alaskan State Troopers .The Alaskan Troopers say the case has been referred to the District Attorney in Ketchikan, Alaska for review. The case illustrates the difficulties prosecuting crimes on cruise ships. A 30 year old Japanese man apparently molests a 12 year old Canadian girl in Alaskan state waters. The cruise ship apparently does not apprehend the man or return to an Alaskan port. The ship sails on to Vancouver, Canada which does not arrest the man even though the victim is Canadian, but reports the crime to the FBI which does not have jurisdiction because the incident occurred in state territorial waters of Alaska. The FBI sends the matter back to Alaska where the crime is alleged to occur. By the time the Alaskan Troopers are involved, the Japanese man is long gone. Around and around we go, with no one wanting the hot potato, and the cruise line hoping the situation will just disappear. The local District Attorney in Ketchikan Alaska is now looking at trying to figure out how to prosecute a Japanese cruise passenger, who allegedly molested a little Canadian girl, and who probably escaped to Japan and will never return to the U.S. again. | Sexual assault of minor |
| June 12, 2013 | Costa Classica Costa Cruises |
Inquirer Global Nation reports a 32-year-old female security guard alleges she was raped in February last year. The suspects were two Indian nationals identified as Joseph Chacko and Anoop Palatty, chief security officer and assistant security officer, respectively, of the liner. In her affidavit, the victim said she was on duty patrolling the ship’s crew area at around 11 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2012, when the ship-in-charge security officer, Mohammed Riyaz, told her to report to the security office. The victim, whose identity was withheld, obeyed and found the two suspects in the office drinking liquor. Indecent advances She said that, initially, Palatty made indecent advances, but she was able to leave the room. Before midnight, she said she was summoned again, this time to Chacko’s cabin. She went thinking it was official business. She said she was surprised to find the two officers there still drinking. The suspects initially discussed with her security procedures and a coming staff evaluation, the victim said, adding that she was told she would be rehired “because Chacko likes me and it is important that I make Chacko happy.” The victim said Chacko sexually abused her as soon as Palatty left the cabin. The victim said she tried to resist but she was overpowered by the suspect. She said she reported the incident to the ship captain, Italian Pierre Paulo Gallastroni, who told her to make a statement. The captain assured her he would notify the company head office in Genoa, Italy, about the incident, the victim added. Linsangan said the victim also reported the crime to the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong where she filed her complaint. “She submitted her written affidavit before a Philippine consular official. She was medically and physically examined by the Hong Kong officer,” the lawyer said. The two culprits, however, were able to disembark in Hong Kong and escape before Hong Kong police could begin their investigation of the incident. Linsangan said he forwarded the complaint to a collaborating lawyer in Rome, Italy. He said a complaint for damages was also filed in Genoa, Italy, where the judge has scheduled the trial for June 18. | Rape |
| May 20, 2013 | Disney Dream Disney Cruise Line |
WKMG-TV reports more than two hours before the ship left port last August, a Disney Cruise Line crewmember was captured on ship surveillance video molesting an 11-year-old girl in an elevator – a crime Disney Cruise Line said it believes it must by law report immediately. But a Local 6 investigation reveals the incident was not reported until the next day, long after the ship had slipped out of port, enabling the 33-year-old suspect to evade investigation and prosecution by Florida authorities. Disney Cruise Line at first claimed last week it did report the crime while the ship was still in port on Aug. 5. Then, after being told by Local 6 and Port Canaveral police that was not true, the cruise line changed its account.Company officials then claimed employees did not know until the next day that a crime was committed. All they knew on Aug. 5, they claim, was that the child was made to feel “uncomfortable,” according to statements by the cruise line to both Local 6 and the Port Canaveral police. But, based on surveillance video and a confidential Disney Cruise Line security incident report obtained by Local 6, that also appears to be false. The report reveals cruise line security began its investigation of the molestation – which it called an “inappropriate sexual act” -- at 3:22 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5. The child promptly told security the man had repeatedly grabbed her breast through her clothes and forcibly kissed her on the mouth as he cornered her in an elevator on the Disney Dream. She “began to cry,” the report stated, as she relayed how the crew member “went like this,” grabbing her breast, and “then went like this,” demonstrating a second groping before “he kiss me here and he put mouth on my mouth.” Such an attack, even through clothing, is under Florida law a lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12, a felony punishable by 25 years to life in prison. But the company’s own confidential incident report provides more evidence that is not true. Eight minutes after the molestation -- and two hours before the ship departed -- the victim and her grandmother emerged from the elevator at 3:03 p.m. and headed toward the guest services counter, where they reported the incident. Security was contacted and initiated the investigation at 3:22 p.m., followed promptly by the child relaying the criminal allegations to a cruise security officer. At 3:57 p.m., the 11-year-old from Brazil led the officer to the spot where she encountered the suspect and “appeared to be uncomfortable when she walked me to the elevator where (the crew member) touched and kissed her,” the officer wrote in her report. The security officer then retrieved and reviewed the video of the elevator lobby outside the car where the attack occurred and confirmed the actions of a uniformed crew member were consistent with the 11-year-old’s retelling of the story. At 4:48 p.m., the video was shown to a dining manager, who identified the suspect by name and position, a dining room server from India. At 5:02 p.m., the Disney Dream left its berth at Port Canaveral, as if nothing criminal had occurred. The suspect continued to roam the ship until 7:50 p.m., when he was called to the security office and, under questioning, denied molesting the girl, according to the DCL report. He was then “removed from the floor” and, apparently, kept from encountering children. After another unsuccessful attempt to get him to confess on Aug. 6, he was questioned after the ship arrived in Nassau on Aug. 7 by Bahamian authorities, who assumed jurisdiction of the investigation because the Disney Dream is flagged in the Bahamas. In a statement to Bahamas Police, the suspect, Milton Braganza, finally admitted “I touched her on her right breast with my left hand.” But by then – two days into a five-day Disney cruise – the victim’s grandmother had decided she did not want the crime investigated. DCL would not say if it refunded any or all of the family’s cruise expenses. Had Florida law enforcement immediately been informed of the potential life felony and found probable cause, Hellebrand said the suspect would have been arrested, regardless of a victim’s grandmother’s wishes. Cruise Law News reports Disney flew the crew member home to India, at the cruise line's expense, rather than arrange for him to return to Florida to be arrested. | Sexual assault of minor |
| April 3 | Mariner of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
KTRK reports a man accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy aboard a cruise ship remains in federal custody Wednesday. Todd Nordahl, of Arizona, was arrested when the ship, returning from a seven-night sail, docked in Galveston on Sunday. The case arose after a Royal Caribbean security officer contacted the FBI, reporting allegations made by a 15-year-old boy on board while in international waters. According to the Daily Mail, Nordahl allegedly plied the 15-year-old boy with alcohol after inviting him to his cabin and then molested him.
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Sexual assault of minor |
| February 18, 2013 | Carnival Triumph Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cruise Law News reports A newspaper in the Bahamas is reporting that a team of of detectives from Nassau to Galveston, Texas yesterday to investigate an alleged sexual assault that occurred on a Carnival cruise ship. Here's what the Bahamian newspaper is reporting: While the Bahamas Maritime Authority is leading the investigation into what caused the fire, detectives from the Royal Bahamas Police Force are also investigating a sexual offence claim, Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson said yesterday. “We send some officers to Texas to head up the investigation. The ship is a Bahamian Flag Ship so wherever something happens we have to tend it. The officers went over there this morning and should be back sometime tomorrow. They are investigating a sexual offence matter that happened on the cruise. We should have some more information tomorrow on the matter.” | Sexual assault investigation |
| January 24, 2013 | Grand Princess Princess Cruises |
Bermuda Sun reports two employees appeared in Magistrates’ Court today facing serious sex assault charges on the ship. The two European men, 26 and 27-years-old, were charged with sexually assaulting a woman on the ship on January 12. The court heard the men were employees on the ship. The alleged victim was an employee as well. Magistrate Juan Wolffe gave the men $5,000 bail each with a surety. They must surrender their travel documents, report to the Hamilton Police Station on Monday and Friday, have no contact with the complainant and must not leave the island. The two reappear on 7th February 2013 for a Preliminary Inquiry. | Sexual assault |
| January 23, 2013 | Carnival Victory Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cruise Law News reports a lawsuit was filed last week alleging that Carnival served a young woman two margaritas, a Mojito and three double vodka drinks. Weighing only 118 pounds, the passenger was visibly intoxicated but the Carnival bartenders kept pouring drinks to the woman and her friends, one of whom was so drunk that she vomited on her. Carnival crew members and officers were observed openly fraternizing and drinking alcohol with women in the ship's bar and disco club. The lawsuit alleges after the woman was intoxicated, two upper level Carnival ship employees, both large men, physically pinned down the wrists of the petite, small framed woman and took turns raping her. One Carnival employee sodomized her. The lawsuit states that the two men humiliated the woman and laughed at her when she resisted and protested. The theory of liability against Carnival is that the cruise line routinely over-serves alcohol to its passengers in order to increase profits and it does not maintain an adequate level of security to protect women on its cruise ships. While Carnival encourages excessive alcohol consumption, it does not enforce its alleged "zero tolerance" policy against crew - guest fraternization. In addition to the negligence allegations, the lawsuit asserts that the cruise lines is vicariously and strictly liable for the criminal conduct of its employees. | Sexual assault - lawsuit filed |
| December 12, 2012 | Carnival Sensation Carnival Cruise Lines |
Orlando Sentinel reports testimony is under way in Orlando federal court in the case against a Casselberry man accused of gang raping a 15-year-old girl in the cabin of a Carnival cruise ship earlier this year. Casey Dickerson, 32, and his wife were passengers on board the Carnival Sensation, which departed from Port Canaveral on Aug. 16. Authorities said the couple were given a second cabin after complaining about an issue with the first room, but kept both cabins. The victim told the FBI she and another teenage friend went to Dickerson's cabin with several boys in the early hours of Aug. 19. There, authorities said, Dickerson and the boys held the girl down and took turns having sex with her. Bitter about Dwight Howard's departure? Click here for some payback! Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg told jurors during his opening statement Wednesday that Dickerson and the boys told each other to "switch" as they assaulted her. As the teenager was attacked, her friend was held in the bathroom by one of the boys, authorities said. The victim was treated on the cruise ship for injuries, authorities said. The boys told the FBI that Dickerson gave the victim and her teenage friend alcohol, and that the girl was so inebriated she could not resist the sexual attacks. Dickerson faces two charges, including statutory rape. Defense attorney F. Wesley "Buck" Blankner Jr. told jurors that Dickerson does not dispute he had sex with the 15-year-old. But the attorney said evidence will not indicate the sex was against the girl's will. | Court Case: Gang rape of teen |
| November 16, 2012 | Celebrity Millennium Celebrity Cruises |
Bay of Plenty Times reports police are investigating a complaint from the passenger that she was indecently assaulted several days ago while the ship was at sea. The ship, which had sailed from Fiji, berthed in Tauranga at 5.12am yesterday and was due to sail on to Auckland at 4.15pm last night, before heading back to Sydney at the end of its journey. The passenger, in her late 40s early 50s, alleges she was indecently assaulted while the ship was in the Fiji region. The woman subsequently alerted the ship's captain and police were then informed, and a team of Tauranga police began their investigation when the ship docked in Tauranga. UPDATE: The newspaper reports no charges will be filed in the incident because police determined that was insufficient evidence to support prosecution. | Sexual assault |
| August 22, 2012 | Carnival Sensation Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Orlando Sentinel reports federal prosecutors said a Casselberry man participated in the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl while onboard a Carnival cruise ship last weekend. Casey Dickerson, 31, was arrested on a federal sex charge Monday after an FBI investigation accused him and several teenage boys of having forcible sex with the girl in a cabin on Sunday. A judge deemed Dickerson a danger to the community and ordered he be held at the Orange County Jail until his trial. The other boys, identified only by their initials, admitted to having sex with the girl but have not been charged. Federal prosecutors must seek permission from the Attorney General in order to file charges against juveniles. A U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman said Wednesday her agency is continuing to review the case. FBI Special Agent Dave Couvertier said that even during vacations, parents must keep safety in mind and be aware of their surroundings. Children who are unsupervised are prime targets for victimization, he said. "Whether at a sporting event, theme park, or a on a cruise, you need to be aware that there are hundreds of people from all walks of life participating in the related activity," Couvertier said. "This could include thieves, con men, and even child predators." According to a criminal complaint, Dickerson and his wife were on the cruise that left from Port Canaveral on Aug. 16. The couple was given a second cabin after complaining about a noise issue with their first room, according to the complaint, but was allowed to keep both cabins. The teenage victim told an FBI agent that she and another friend, also 15, went to Dickerson's cabin with him and four other boys. Once in the cabin, the girl said, Dickerson and the boys held her down and took turns having sex with her, according to the complaint. At the same time, the victim's teenage friend was being held in the bathroom by one of the boys. As Dickerson and the others sexually assaulted the victim, they told each other to "switch," so that they would change positions. The girl said someone knocked on the door while she was being attacked and one of the boys answered it. The girl said she was on the floor of the cabin, wearing only a bra, and after the person who knocked at the door left, Dickerson and the boys continued their sexual attacks, the complaint says. Eventually, one of the suspected attackers dressed the girl and her teenage friend was allowed out of the bathroom. The girl received medical treatment on the ship for her injuries. The FBI also questioned the boys allegedly involved in the attack. The boys told agents Dickerson gave alcohol to the victim and her friend, and that the victim was inebriated to the point that she could not resist the attacks. UPDATE: Business Insider reports the 31-year-old man accused of raping a teenage girl claims he was drunk at the time and while he had sex with other women aboard the ship, he isn't sure the teenage girl was one of them. He was arrested Monday after a 15-year-old girl claimed he and a group of four teenage boys held her down and took turns having sex with her, telling each other to "switch" when it was time for a new man to sexually assault her. The boys, who have not been named, reportedly told the FBI Dickerson plied the girl with alcohol until she was "inebriated to the point that she could not resist the attacks." | Gang rape of minor |
| August 16, 2012 | Navigator of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
The Miami Herald reports a crewman sexually assaulted a South Florida passenger during a New Year’s cruise, an attack that was partially captured on surveillance video, according to a federal lawsuit. The woman identified as S.M. was attacked on Jan. 1 on the Navigator of the Seas during an Eastern Caribbean cruise, the lawsuit alleges. On the morning of the attack, the victim had gone to an upper-level deck to use a whirlpool. The woman asked a crew member for a towel, and he led her into a bathroom, where he assaulted her, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Ship surveillance video captured her following him into the bathroom — and her trying to escape, only to be dragged back in to the room, said Miami attorney Michael Feiler. The woman slipped away and reported the attack to ship security. Feiler believes Royal security officers took the man into custody and kicked him off the ship at the next overseas port. | Sexual assault |
| July 16, 2012 | Celebrity Equinox Celebrity Cruises |
The Daily Mail reports a crew member has been arrested in connection with the rape of a British holidaymaker attacked as she was on a Mediterranean cruise with her parents. The 27-year-old woman was just hours into the 11-night when it is claimed she was targeted by the male crew member who is also 27 years old and who is believed to be part of the entertainment team. She was onboard the 1041ft Celebrity Equinox cruise liner which had left the Italian port of Civitavecchia last week and is due to arrive back there next week after stops in Pireaus, Greece, as well as Kusadasi in Turkey and the Greek islands of Rhodes, Santorini and Mykonos. Police said the man was arrested just 17 hours after the Equinox left port and docked at the port of Messina on the Italian island of Sicily and last night he was still there in custody after discussions between them and the US Consulate. He is said to have met the woman in a bar on the three-year-old ship, which carries 2,850 passengers, and then spent several hours drinking with her and he then followed her back to her cabin when she said she was tired and going to bed. The man then allegedly bundled her inside and threw her on the bed where he carried out the attack before escaping - leaving his shocked victim distraught. She told her parents who alerted the captain. The suspect is being held by police in the port of Messina, Sicily while they continue their investigation |
Sexual assault |
| April 20, 2012 | Queen Elizabeth II & Queen Mary 2 Cunard Line |
The Daily Mail reports a cruise ship worker who filmed himself abusing children left in his care aboard luxury Cunard liners has admitted attacks on 13 youngsters. Paul Trotter, 34, pleaded guilty to a string of sexual assaults and taking, making and possessing indecent images of children, most of whom were under the age of 13 at the time. The supervisor, who worked in the children's play zones, made films of himself abusing the children on three cruise ships, including Queen Mary 2 and its sister vessel Queen Elizabeth. He also possessed other indecent images of children he had obtained online. He admitted 12 counts of sexual assaulting a child under the age of 13, one count of sexual activity with a child under the age of 13, five counts of taking indecent images of a child, five of making indecent images of a child and one of possessing indecent images of a child. The offences were committed from November 2007 to August 2011 when he arrested by Wiltshire Police's child abuse investigation unit. | Multiple sexual assaults of children 13 and younger |
| April 4, 2012 | Carnival Sensation Carnival Cruise Lines |
Huffington Post reports ateenage girl is suing Carnival Cruise Lines in Miami's federal court, accusing employees of having conducted an aggressive strip and cavity search when she was an underaged passenger on board a cruise last year. "J.G.", then 17, says security staff forced her to strip, urinate, remove a tampon, and have her genitals examined last April while under suspicion of marijuana possession. The incident occurred after the Carnival Sensation out of Cape Canaveral made a stop in the Bahamas on April 27. When J.G., her mother, and a 15-year-old friend returned to the boat, a security employee sharing their elevator claimed to have found a small baggie filled with "green leaves" in the group's wake. Mayank Thapa and two other Carnival employees approached J.G. in her cabin and began interrogating her. The suit states that J.G. was not informed of her rights, nor told that her mother could be present. [Read the court complaint at Courthouse News, via Miami New Times.] With an employee blocking the door, the girls said they feared for their safety. Thapa and the agents reportedly threatened J.G. repeatedly, saying if she confessed, her interrogation would stop and she could continue her cruise. J.G. then admitted the bag was hers. But even after confessing, she says, the agents continued demanding to know "where the rest of it was," searching her cabin and purse. The guards then told J.G., to remove her underwear and lift her dress, forcing her into the restroom and watching while she urinated. She was then told to remove a tampon and her "genital cavity was inspected visually" by a female Carnival employee, though the two male employees were present to watch. With nothing found in or on her person, J.G. was then turned over to the Bahamian police, who placed her in an adult holding cell until the next day. There, J.G. alleges, she was assaulted. Seeking unspecified damages over $75,000, the lawsuit filed in March alleges counts of negligence, fraud and misrepresentation, assault, sexual harassment, battery, emotional distress, breach of contract, and punitive damages. Carnival Corporation PR Manager Vance Gulliksen told HuffPost Miami in an emailed statement that the teen's allegation are "patently false," "obviously" made in retaliation for Carnival having removed the girl and her mother from the cruise before the voyage in Nassau was over. Guilliksen said Carnival does not normally comment on pending litigation, but felt "compelled to do so given the far-fetched claims." | Sexual assault |
| March 6, 2012 | Norwegian Star Norwegian Cruise Line |
Tampa Bay Times reports a 29-year-old Croatian assistant cruise director was arrested Sunday at the Port of Tampa after tfor allegedly having sexual contact with a 16-year-old female passenger on a cruise and later saving sexually explicit photographs of her on his computer.The man met the 16-year-old victim on a trip that departed Tampa on Jan. 29 and returned Feb. 5, according to an FBI affidavit. The Minnesota resident was traveling with her parents. The ship's internal security team obtained a signed statement in which the crew member admitted to having sexual contact with the victim on a staircase on the ship, right after the cruise stopped at Costa Maya, Mexico. AFter the cruise, he and the victim had email corrspondence. Investigators say he stored about 20 photos of the victim from multiple emails that appear to have been sent from Minnesota while he was at sea. She wore clothes in some but was naked in most. In return, he sent the victim graphic photos of himself and a video of him masturbating in front of her photo. In an interview with FBI agents last week, the victim confirmed the sexual encounter on the ship and admitted to sending photos of herself. She introduced the man to her parents at the beginning of the cruise, the affidavit said, and her father specifically told him that his daughter was 16. A search of the man's hard drive found what appeared to be videos of minors engaging in sexual activity downloaded from the Internet. He has worked for Norwegian Cruise Lines since 2006. | Sexual assault of minor |
| February 14, 2012 | Queen Mary 2 Cunard Line |
The Daily Echo reports a former Cunard cruise ship worker has been charged with a sex attack on a child, police said today. Paul Trotter, 34, is accused of possessing indecent images of children and sexual assault of a child aged under 13 between December 20, 2010 and January 5, 2011. The assault was alleged to have been committed while Trotter was working for Cunard as a supervisor for a children's activity area, Wiltshire Police said. The former Cunard employee was initially arrested on suspicion of making, possessing and distributing of indecent images on August 12 last year. A force spokeswoman said: ''Wiltshire Police are contacting all of the parents they need to speak to in relation to the investigation. | Child sexual abuse (under age 13) |
| February 5, 2012 | Liberty of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From a passenger: I was on a cruise on the ship in late 2011. On the next to the last night of the cruise I woke up to find a strange man standing over my bed at 3:40AM. I screamed for him to get out and he made pretend he thought our suite was his room. I called security immediatly and they came up to have me fill out a report. They told me he could not get into the room unless the door was left unlocked. Althousgh I asked for more information they never told me anything more. They didn't even try to apologize. After the cruise I called them several times and the only thing they told me was that they had a passenger who reported himself as a sleep walker within ten minutes of the reported incident. He claimed to have lost his card to open his door. I feel that they are just trying to bury this and sweep a possible crime under the carpet. Had I not awakened as he leaned over my bed to make sure I was sleeping, I can only imagine what may have taken place. I think that they should have had sufficient time by now to get back to me. I asked for the passenger's name so I could do a crime check on him, which I am sure is much more than RC did. I am very disappointed with their lack of response and I probably will never take another cruise on any line in light of this incident and the current news on the Concordia. I now know more about cruise ship crime and serious incidents than I want to know. I have had great trouble sleeping since this incident and I would like to put it behind me. I would also like others to know just how unsafe they are on Royal Caribbean. I read somewhere that they have a flaw in their doors. I am not sure if that is true, but I would not like to try to find that out by going on another cruise. Luckily, I didn't have a heart attack from the shock of the incident and I am very disappointed with their follow up. I think it was more cover up than follow up. I would like others to know about this danger but I would not like my name published with the information. Since we were in a grand suite, I felt that at least the conscierge would help, but he never even mentioned it on the last day. I guess he was too wrapped up in making sure everyone got a tip envelope with his name on it. It would have been nice if he asked if I was feeling OK the next day. Security never even asked if I was OK they just wanted their report filled out. | Intruder in my room |
| January 22, 2012 | Queen Mary 2 & QE2 Cunard Line |
The Daily Mail reports A man who has worked on two of the world’s most luxurious cruise liners is being investigated by police over allegations he indecently assaulted child passengers. It is claimed the crew member carried out the sexual assaults over the past five years on Cunard’s flagship the Queen Mary 2 and its sister vessel Queen Elizabeth. Detectives started the investigation after a tip-off thought to be from the parents of one of the children involved, all of whom live in the UK. Police in Wiltshire, where the unnamed man lives, have contacted parents in various parts of the UK whom they want to interview. Nobody has been arrested or charged over the allegations. But police sources confirmed that the ex-cruise worker – who left the company before the police probe began six months ago – has been interviewed by Wiltshire CID. Detectives are understood to have examined photographic and computer equipment at the man’s home. The investigation, which began last summer, has taken so long because of the delicate nature of the allegations and the fact they involve young children. | Multiple sexual assaults of children |
| January 12, 2012 | Enchantment of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
The Baltimore Sun reports a 25-year-old Royal Caribbean employee has been indicted on charges of sex abuse of a minor after authorities say he had sex with a teenage girl aboard a cruise ship out of Baltimore, records show. According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Fabian Palmer befriended the 14-year-old girl and her family during a cruise that departed from Maryland on Dec. 17. On Dec. 23, the victim told authorities, she was alone on the deck of the ship and encountered Palmer, who took her into a men's locker room and began having sex with her. He stopped when another employee knocked on the door, she said. Topics Royal Caribbean International Trials Dominican Republic See more topics » Video cameras captured "the likeness of Palmer," the victim, and the second employee outside the locker room around the same time that the victim said the abuse occurred, records show. Palmer was interviewed by Royal Caribbean employees and admitted having sex with the girl, but said he believed she was 16, records show. He was indicted on one count of sex abuse of a minor on Jan. 11. See also the Daily Mail. | Sexual Assault of teen |
| January 4, 2012 | Allure of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
The Orlando Sentinel reports a teenager said she was raped by two passengers while aboard, lured from a teen dance club to a private room in the wee hours of the morning. A teenage boy and a young man were arrested at Port Everglades on Tuesday. Both live in Brazil, but are being held in Broward. The teen and her family, who live in Iowa, set sail from Fort Lauderdale on Christmas for a 10-day cruise. The teen told authorities that on the last night aboard she'd gone to a teen club called Fuel, and at about 1:45 a.m. was invited to a party by a 15-year-old boy. She said she thought she'd be meeting friends in his private room, but said that when she got inside, another man was present, and the two would not allow her to leave. The 15-year-old said she told them she had a curfew and tried to leave, but said both males raped her. She reported it immediately to ship officials, according to arrest documents. Update June 15: The Sun Sentinel reports the older of the two men pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery in the rape of a 15-year-old girl on the last day of a holiday cruise. Broward Circuit Judge Matthew Destry sentenced Luiz Scavone, 20, to a year in Broward County jail and declared him a sexual offender. Federal officials were expected to arrange Scavone's deportation to Brazil after he serves his jail sentence, according to his attorney, David Bogenschutz. | Sexual Assault of teen |
| November 22, 2011 | Carnival Liberty Carnival Cruise Lines |
Sun-Sentinel reports a shipboard employee has been charged with engaging in sexual acts with a minor, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern United States said in a release Tuesday. According to the criminal complaint filed, Kert Clyde Jordan, 35 of Grenada engaged in a sexual acts with a 14-year old while she was on vacation with her family aboard the Carnival Liberty. Jordan – a waiter on the ship – allegedly engaged in sexual acts in the bathroom with the victim while the ship was sailing in international waters on November 4 and 5, according to the release. | Child sexual assault |
| September 12, 2011 | Celebrity Equinox Celebrity Cruises |
Cruise Law News reports that according to the lawsuit papers, in October 2010, a crewmember employed as an assistant sales clerk working for a perfume concessionaire aboard the Celebrity Equinox, was raped on the cruise ship in the early morning hours after leaving the crew bar. "Jane Doe" awoke to find another crewmember sexually assaulting her. Celebrity Equinox Cruise ShipShe reported the incident to her supervisors and was examined and treated in the ship infirmary. Police in the next port of call in Israel interviewed her, and the assailant crew member was eventually terminated and sent home. Like most cruise ship sexual assault allegations, the assailant crew member was not arrested and there was no criminal prosecution. The ship doctor did not administer any anti-retroviral medications to Jane Doe. She was permitted four days off from work and thereafter returned to full time duty. Neither Celebrity Cruises not her employer, Harding Brothers which operates the perfume concession, provided her with a psychiatrist, psychologist or counselor despite her many requests for help dealing with the trauma. Jane Doe ended her employment on the cruise ship in February 2011. Jane Doe is from South Africa. She is unemployed. Neither Celebrity nor Harding Brothers have provided her with any medical treatment or assistance after she left the cruise ship as required by the doctrine of "maintenance and cure." | Rape |
| July 20, 2011 | ??? of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
The Beaver County Times reportson a 72 year old man pleaded guilty to a charge of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He traveled to Florida for the voyage aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, FBI investigators said. A few days after the trip began, he got into a hot tub with a 6-year-old boy and touched the boy's genitals. Federal prosecutors said video surveillance showed the man getting into a Jacuzzi in a water-amusement area on the ship on Dec. 18 and placing a 6-year-old boy on his lap for about three minutes. He released the boy when other people approached, prosecutors said. The surveillance video also showed him approaching another young boy in a second Jacuzzi. On the video, the boy gets up and runs away after the man touches his lower back, prosecutors said. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. | Child sexual abuse |
| June 21, 2011 | Norwegian Sun Norwegian Cruise Line |
Maritime Law Blog reports a suit has been filed against NCL on behalf of a passenger who asserts she was raped and sexually assaulted in a public bathroom aboard the Norwegian Sun cruise ship. On April 11, 2011, the passenger (whose name is kept confidential due to the extreme nature of this lawsuit) was participating in an NCL organized "pub crawl" whereby crewmembers took her and other guests throughout the cruise ship stopping briefly to drink at various bars. The complaint alleges the bartenders aboard the ship encouraged passengers to drink above their limits. At one stop the passenger refused the drink offered, but the bartender insisted she drink, returned the beverage to her and stated "no wastee, no wastee." After the event, the passenger went to a public bathroom. While in a stall, she heard her name called. The next thing she knew, the door to the stall busted open, a man spun her around and raped her. The complaint filed in Miami, Florida Federal Court alleges NCL created an unreasonably dangerous condition by feeding the passenger high amounts of alcohol to the point where she became a target for a sexual predator and was unable to defend herself. The complaint also alleges NCL breached its duty to the passenger by not escorting her to her cabin after the event or otherwise protect her while in a vulnerable condition. | Sexual assault |
| June 11, 2011 | Regatta Oceania Cruises | Cruise Law News reports on June 10th, a senior Federal District Court Judge in Miami rejected an attempt by a Miami-based cruise line to limit its potential liability at no more than $65,000 for alleged damages suffered by a minor raped on a cruise ship. The case arose out of a shipboard rape of a girl alleged against Oceania Cruises. According to the lawsuit papers, an Oceania Cruises crewmember sexually assaulted and raped a 13 year old girl during a cruise aboard the Regatta cruise ship in October 2009. Oceania Cruises filed a motion seeking to assert, as an affirmative defense, the terms and Oceania Cruises - Regatta Cruise Ship - Sexual Assault - Rapeconditions of the "Athens Convention Relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea." This is an international treaty which applies when a cruise ship does not call on a U.S. port. It is commonly referred to as the "Athens Convention." The Athens Convention limits a cruise lines liability for injuries and deaths to 46,666 Special Drawing Right (SDR's) which is an international currency which has a conversion rate today of around U.S. $65,000. | Child sexual abuse |
| May 12, 2011 | Navigator of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
The Miami Herald reports a civil suit was filed in federal court on behalf of a 17-year-old who said she was raped by a musician employed by the cruise line. According to the lawsuit, the 17-year-old boarded the ship at Port Everglades on March 3. Two days later, when the ship was in international waters, she was listening to a band when the singer invited her to dance. Later, the man ordered her several alcoholic drinks at the bar. Neither the singer nor the bartender asked the girl her age, the suit says. The “extremely intoxicated and impaired” teen went with the singer to his room, according to the suit. Once there, he engaged in sexual activity with the girl, even after she “gained a slight level consciousness” and said she wanted to leave, the suit says. Another man was present and took photographs during the incident, the suit says. Once she was allowed to leave, the girl sat in a hallway crying, where an employee found her. She gave a statement and was taken to the medical center for examination. In a statement, Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said the incident was immediately reported to the FBI and that a team from the company offered the passenger medical care and counseling. When the ship returned to Port Everglades, Martinez said, FBI agents boarded and investigated. | Sexual assault of minor |
| April 7, 2011 | Elation Carnival Cruise Lines |
WKRG - TV (Mobile) reports the U.S. Attorney's office in Mobile has arrested a19 year old man for abusing a minor. The incident happened in international waters onboard the ship. FBI agents arrested the man without incident. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama will prosecute this matter, which was investigated by the FBI, Mobile Division. | Sexual assault of minor |
| March 30, 2011 | Unknown | The Royal Gazette (Bermuda) reports a 41-year-old Filipino national was yesterday acquitted of sexual assault charges in Magistrates’ Court. The cruise ship worker was accused of the offence by a 26-year-old female co-worker, also from the Philippines. The man, who was not named for legal reasons, had denied the offence. He was brought to the Island from Miami to face the charges as the vessel is Bermuda-registered. The complainant had become pregnant from a December 28 sexual encounter which she maintained had been forced on her, but which the defendant said had been consensual. At a March 11 court appearance, she said the pregnancy had since been terminated. In weighing the evidence yesterday, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner noted: “It was not until January 18, after discussing her pregnancy with him, that the defendant made a complaint of sexual assault.” He continued: “In all the circumstances, I am not satisfied that the complainant did not consent, and that the defendant did not have an honest and reasonable belief that it was consensual.” | ?Sexual assault? |
| March 18, 2011 | Ship unknown Princess Cruises | The Spalding Guardian reports a “world class” cruise ship captain from Donington has been jailed for nine months for sex offences against a 14-year-old girl while she slept in her cabin. Lincoln Crown Court heard on Thursday how Peter Russell (64), of Bicker Road, performed a sex act on a teenage girl while she was asleep in her bunk. The victim thought she had dreamt the incident but it later came to light when Russell chatted to her on the internet on MSN Messenger and made obscene suggestions. Matthew Lowe, prosecuting, said Russell made comments about the girl’s breasts and urged her to perform a sex act while chatting to him over the internet. Russell went on to request that the girl take a photograph of herself naked and send it to him. The incidents came to an end when the girl broke down in front of her dad and showed him the records of her online conversations she had with Russell. Russell admitted two charges of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity together with sexual activity in the presence of a child and a further charge of sexual activity with a child. Judge Sean Morris jailed Russell for nine months and placed him on the sex offenders’ register for ten years. | Sexual assault of minor |
| March 7, 2011 | Majesty of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
Cruise Law News reports A horrific crime occurred in Nassau involving a twenty-four year old Canadian woman cruising to the Bahamas. "Jane Doe" (whose name is being withheld to protect her confidentiality) cruised from Miami, leaving February 21st. Jane Doe sailed with her father and friends. The cruise ship docked in Nassau on February 23rd. While ashore the group ended up at Senor Frog's, a popular local bar, early in the evening. Senor Frogs is located at the end of a promenade called the "Woods Rogers Walk," near the Straw Market, close to the wharf where the cruise ships dock. After leaving the bar to head back to the cruise ship, the young woman was viciously attacked and sustained physical injuries. Looking for help, Jane Doe was then sexually assaulted by a second man (pretending to be a good samaritan) who raped her. She treated in a local hospital in Nassau and then eventually flew home to Canada to recover. | Sexual assault ashore |
| February 21, 2011 | Carnival Freedom Carnival Cruise Lines |
ABC News (Nightline) has a story tonight about a rape of a 14 year old female passenger by a crew member in 2009. According to the story, after having trouble falling asleep one night during their 2009 Carnival cruise, the teenage girl said she left her parents' cabin and went alone to an upper deck of the ship to write in her journal. It was there, she said, that Heri Krispiyanto, a 30-year-old Carnival cruise line employee from Indonesia who waited on the family during meals, found her and then raped her. "He pulled me into an employee-only room," she said. "I asked him what he was doing and he told me that he was going to take care of me. "He raped me, I kept saying, 'No,' but he didn't care," she said of the alleged rape. "He told me not to tell my parents, and he just unlocked the door and let me go." After it was over, she said she was shaken and afraid as she returned to her parents' cabin, but she didn't tell them what had happened. "It's hard to say it," she said through tears. "My dad's birthday was the next day. It's too hard to say." Having no idea what had happened to their daughter, Darla and Enoch continued to enjoy their vacation, as the girl said she lived with the nightmare in secret. "At that point, I just really wanted to die," she said. "I was angry about that, that had happened to me. We're supposed to be on vacation. We're not supposed to have to worry about somebody trying to murder us or rape us." Even after returning home to Oklahoma, she kept the incident a secret from her parents for the next three months until she became severely depressed. "I had some thoughts about suicide," she said. "So I decided to tell my mom because I needed help." | Sexual assault of minor |
| February 11, 2011 | Disney Wonder Disney Cruise Line |
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports A Rochester man was sentenced to 46 months in prison for abusive sexual contact, the U.S. Attorneys Office announced today. The 25 year old man admitted that on Jan. 1, 2007, while on the ship leaving Port Canaveral, Fla., to the Caribbean, he knowingly engaged in sexual contact with a 13-year-old. He placed the minor in fear that she would be subjected to serious bodily injury. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,667 for abusive sexual contact on the high seas. The minor and her family boarded the ship on Dec. 31, 2006. That evening, the minor went to the ship’s teen club with some other youngsters she met. After the club closed, the man approached them and ordered them to return to their rooms. He told the victim to follow him and she did, believing him to be a security officer with the cruise ship. After the defendant led her to the rear of the ship, where no other people were around, he engaged in sexual contact with the minor. | Sentenced for sexual assault of minor |
| February 4, 2011 | Caribbean Princess Princess Cruises |
The Bermuda Sun reports a crew member has been accused of a sex attack on a woman on the cruise ship. The 40-year-old Filipino was charged with sexual assault in Magistrates’ Court today. He is accused of attacking the woman on board the Caribbean Princess, a Bermuda-registered vessel. The sailor was brought to Bermuda from Miami by the Bermuda Police Service to face the charges. Kenrick James represents the defendant. He was given $5000 bail and his trial will begin on March 7. | Sexual assault |
| January 13, 2011 | Island Princess Princess Cruises |
LA Weekly reports a female passenger files a lawsuit earlier this week in Los Angles Superior Court against the cruise line. It was the wee hours of the morning last January,the woman claims, when a man who worked aboard the ship, cruising from Acapulco to Florida, grabbed her and pulled her against him. She says the man began groping her and tried to kiss her, before forcing her toward a deserted part of the ship. She tried to ward off her assailant and slip away, but he physically prevented her from escaping. Once the crew member, whose name is unknown, according to the lawsuit, pulled her into a secluded area, he allegedly held her against a counter top, hiked up her skirt and touched her private parts. She says she was then able push the crew member off of her and run away. The woman claims not only that she was sexually attacked, but that the man had a "prior, similar incident of misconduct" while employed aboard one of Princess' ships. | Sexual assault |
| January 4, 2011 | Consellation Celebrity Cruises |
Sign on San Diego reports a computer that had been given away at an estate sale led to the arrest of a cruise-ship audiovisual manager who was taken into custody on child-pornography charges after arriving at the Port of San Diego. The 31 year old man was arrested Sunday by FBI agents and is accused in a federal criminal complaint of receiving and possessing child pornography. The investigation, conducted by the FBI’s Sacramento division, began last summer when a citizen told a sheriff’s deputy in the northern Sacramento Valley that a computer that he had been given by a woman holding an estate sale in Chico contained images of child pornography on the hard drive. The citizen, a technician, said that the woman had thought the computer was broken. The abandoned computer, which the citizen repaired, was turned over to law-enforcement officials. It contained 450 still-image files and about 250 video files of child pornography portraying a total of 44 different victims. An investigation linked Hernandez to the computer and to the address of the estate sale. According to the federal complaint the man was an audiovisual manager. In documented online chats he had bragged that he had bought young boys for sex in Mexico, the complaint said. | Child pornography seized |
| September 16, 2010 | Queen Mary 2 Cunard Line |
Metro News reports a crewmember who was found in possession of child pornography while his ship was docked in Halifax has been sentenced to 120 days in jail. Edward Mangubat, age 40 from the Philippines, was arrested on Sept. 7 and pleaded guilty on Thursday at Halifax provincial court. | Child pornography siezed |
| September 1, 2010 | Carnival Glory Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Chronicle Herald reports a crewman today was arrested and charged with smuggling child pornography into the country when he debarked in Halifax. The assistant room steward allegedly had child pornography on a laptop computer. Canada Border Services Agency officers were inspecting crew members getting off the ship at Pier 22 when they nabbed the 26-year-old. He was arraigned in Halifax provincial court late in the afternoon on a Customs Act charge. Judge Bill Digby remanded Putra to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth until Friday, when he'll back in court. This is the second cruise ship employee to be charged with having child pornography so far this year in Halifax. In May, a Filipino who was an assistant waiter on the Costa Atlantica was sentenced to four months in jail for possession and importation (see May 13 below). | Child pornography siezed |
| August 19, 2010 | Bahamas Celebration Celebration Cruise Line |
CBS12 reports Miami FBI is investigating an alleged rape on the ship. Investigators responded to the ship when it docked Monday morning. Reports say passengers were delayed upon arrival at the port until the FBI was able to gather a list of names for everyone onboard. At this moment no arrests have been made. | Alleged sexual assault |
| June 29, 2010 | Norwegian Dawn Norwegian Cruise Line |
The Royal Gazette reports a 53-year-old man yesterday admitted sexually assaulting a teenage girl on the cruise ship while he was at dinner with his wife and son. He was fined $5,000 after he was accused of inappropriately touching the 18-year-old with his foot under a dinner table. He pleaded guilty to sexual assault when he appeared at Magistrates' Court, but insisted he was only resting his foot on the girl's knee and had no idea it was making her uncomfortable. According top crown counsel, the man met the victim and her family at Tobacco Bay on June 23 and after returning to the cruise ship, the families agreed to have dinner together. During the meal, his foot started to touch the victim's leg. "At that point, she thought it was an accident. When it happened again, she apologised. It happened again, and so she said she gave him a look. The defendant then slid down his chair, and began to feel her legs with his foot. She crossed her legs to discourage him, but he tried to use his feet to pry open her legs." The victim left the table during dessert and told Police that she returned to her room feeling violated and cried. The man was fine $5,000, the jundge saying: "It can't be put down to just an accidental rubbing of the foot. It was not just resting, it was deliberate and prolonged." | Sexual assault |
| June 23, 2010 | Liberty of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
KDKA-TV reports a 71 year old man has been charged with traveling across state lines intending to molest a child. According to the FBI, he boarded the ship for a week-long voyage. The lead agent in this case testified in federal court what allegedly happened on the morning of Dec. 18. 2009. "Based on the testimony in court today, he was alleged to have attempted to fondle a boy in a hot tub on a cruise ship," FBI agent Julie Halferty said. ABC Action News reports the man admitted he got onto a Florida cruise ship to have a sexual encounter with a child. Investigators say he went into the children's area during a December cruise and fondled a 6-year-old boy in a hot tub. The FBI says surveillance footage shows him putting his arm around the boy and pull him onto his lap. NOTE: Analysis of crime reports to the FBI reveal that a minor is the victim in more than 18% (perhaps as high as 30%) of sex related incidents on cruise ships. | Child molestation |
| May 31, 2010 | Carnival Freedom Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Orlando Sentinel reportsa bartender accused of raping a 14-year-old girl who was vacationing with her parents will make an appearance in Orlando federal court this week. Hery Krispiyanto, 30, will be arraigned Wednesday on a count of sex abuse of a minor. He was indicted last week. Court records said the teenager was aboard the ship, which left from the Port of Fort Lauderdale in April 2009. While on the cruise, the girl and her parents became acquainted with Krispiyanto. She said Krispiyanto was nice to her and commented that she did not look 1; she told investigators she was alone on the upper deck of the ship one night when Krispiyanto walked up behind her, grabbed her arm and pulled her into a nearby employee-only room and closed the door. He began to touch her inappropriately, and she repeatedly told him to stop; she tried to fight him, but Krispiyanto raped her, the criminal complaint said. The girl reported the incident to her mother in August, and it was then reported to the FBI. When an FBI agent questioned Krispiyanto in April, he first denied the incident, records said. But he subsequently confessed to having sex with the mionor aboard the cruise ship in a pantry area. NOTE: From October 2007 through October 2008 Carnival Cruise Lines reported to the FBI 93 sex related incidents -- in a significant proportion of these incidents the victim was a minor. | Sexual Assault of Minor |
| May 13, 2010 | Costa Atlantica Costa Cruises |
The Chronicle Herald reports a 23-year-old assistant waiter was arrested Tuesday as he was getting off the ship in Halifax. He pleaded guilty Thursday in Halifax provincial court to charges of possessing and importing child pornography and was sentenced to four months in jail on each count, to be served concurrently. Canada Border Services Agency officers were inspecting crew members leaving the Italian-registered ship when Trilles admitted having child pornography consisting of two sexually explicit videos of children on both a USB flash drive and a laptop computer. The crew member had worked with Costa Cruises for three years. Last year, border agents on the Halifax waterfront charged two cruise ship employees for having child pornography. | Child pornography siezed |
| February 19, 2010 | Unknown | WHEC TV reports a Rochester, NY man has been indicted by a grand jury for sexual assault of a 13 year old girl on a cruise ship. According to a criminal complaint on December 31, 2006, a 13-year-old female boarded a cruise ship in Florida to embark upon a cruise with her family. In the early morning hours of January 1, 2007, the teen was walking around the decks of the ship with friends when they were approached by a 24-year-old male passenger. According to the complaint, the man told the teen and her friends that they should return to their cabin. The girl followed the manwho took her to another deck where the sexual assault allegedly took place. The complaint states that she was told if she screamed, she would be thrown overboard. NOTE: Between 17.5 and 30 percent of sexual assaults on cruise ships are perpetrated against minors. | Sexual assault of Minor |
| November 29, 2009 | Sinfonia MSC Cruises |
The Saturday Star reports a married man and a father of one faces charges of raping a woman on board the MSC Sinfonia on November 28, 2009, after allegedly spiking her drink. The case was reported in the media on 18 December 2011 after the man claimed he could not be prosecuted in South Africa because the case occured in international waters. | Rape |
| November 6, 2009 | Grandeur of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
Hampton Roads dot com reports a convicted sex offender has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after he admitted downloading child pornography. The thirty-two year old man was arrested in May after he debarked the ship at the Norfolk cruise ship terminal. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents pulled him from the line and searched his laptop, which contained 69 child pornography videos. The search was conducted under a new policy that allows agents to search any electronic device carried by international travelers. | Pax arrested with child porn |
| October 24, 2009 | Norwegian Jewel Norwegian Cruise Line |
The Chronicle Herald reports an employee that visited Halifax on Friday was arrested after border agents allegedly found sexually explicit images of children on his cell phone. Menandro Lim Lanzar, 31, of the Philippines was arraigned in Halifax provincial court on a Customs Act charge of importing child pornography. Mr. Lanzar, quarter master on the Norwegian Jewel, was remanded to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth until Tuesday, when he returns to court. Blair MacDonald, a criminal investigator with the Canada Border Services Agency, said Mr. Lanzar was inspected as he was getting off the ship at Pier 22. UPDATE: The Chronicle Herald reports the crew member has been sentenced to 100 days in jail and will then be deported. | Child pornography arrest |
| October 10, 2009 | Pacific Sun P&O Australia |
The Courier Mail reports police boarded the ship when it docked in Brisbane after they were notified of an alleged sexual assault while the ship was cruising near Noumea last week. The alleged victim was believed to be a juvenile. A police spokeswoman said allegedly involved in the incident had been spoken to by officers, but no one had been arrested or charged. She refused to say how many people were involved in the incident, or where they were from. A spokeswoman for P&O said when officials on the ship became aware of the allegations on October 6, they immediately notified police. UPDATE October 18:The New Zealand Herald advises Kiwi cruisegoers have been warned to watch their backs after an alleged sexual assault on "New Zealand's favourite cruise ship". Detective Sergeant Andy King, who heads Auckland's adult sexual assault team, said cruise ship passengers needed to watch out for themselves. "The same rules apply as if they were going out drinking. Look after each other, take care of your drinks," he said. "Quite often cabins close by make it more convenient for people to get into situations that might be compromising. People should use their common sense. Where people are socialising and drinking, issues will always arise." | Sexual assault of minor |
| September 4, 2009 | Carnival Triumph Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Chronicle Herald (Halifax) reports an Indonesian crewman faces charges after customs officers allegedly found images of child pornography on his computer. Hendri Dharmawan, 29, an employee on the Carnival Triumph, was arrested Tuesday while the ship was docked at Pier 22 on the Halifax waterfront. He was arraigned in Halifax provincial court Wednesday on a Customs Act charge of smuggling child pornography into the country. On Friday, investigators added a Criminal Code charge of possession of child pornography. UPDATE - October 9: The Chronicle Herald reports the crewman is awaiting sentencing/ The newspaper article says: Officers with the Canada Border Services Agency conducted a routine search of Mr. Dharmawan as he and a couple of other crew members were going back on board the ship at Pier 22. After finding child pornography on Mr. Dharmawan’s iPhone, the border agents went to his living quarters on the ship and examined his laptop computer and an external hard drive. Altogether, officers found eight videos of child pornography on Mr. Dharmawan’s devices. The 135 minutes of footage depicted girls as young as eight and boys as young as 10 being abused. | Child pornography arrest |
| March 9, 2009 |
Coral Princess Princess Cruises |
The Los
Angeles Times (and Associated Press)
reports a dining room headwaiter (a 38-year-old Portuguese national who
has worked for Princess for 18 years) was
arrested
today on suspicion
of sexually assaulting a 42-year-old female passenger. The crew member
was taken
into custody after the Federal Bureau of Investigation received the
complaint about the assault and dispatched investigators and an
evidence response team to the ship, which docked in Los Angeles this
morning. The ship was on 14-day cruise through the Panama Canal,
between Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Los Angeles. |
Sexual assault |
| January 15, 2009 |
Carnival Conquest Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Southeast
Texas Record reports a lawsuit has been filed alleging a
13-year-old girl was sexually assaulted during a cruise last summer.
The girl was aboard the ship the afternoon of June 24 when a male
employee - a waiter at the ship's Lido Deck Buffet
- approached the teen as she went toward her cabin and made an
inappropriate pass at her, court papers say. "During the encounter in
the hallway, the Carnival employee made inappropriate and sexually
suggestive comments to the minor, grabbed her arm, and forcibly
attempted to pull her into an
elevator," the original petition says. The plaintiffs argue the waiter
also tried to kiss the girl's face and neck. |
Sexual assault of
minor |
| August 19, 2008 |
Serenade of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
A thirty-year old Turkish male crew member was arrested when
the ship was in Juneau after a female crew member complained to police
that she had been sexually assaulted while in her cabin. |
Sexual Assault (crew on crew) |
| June 19, 2008 |
Carnival Victory Carnival Cruise Lines |
CBS
in Miami reports a woman alleges she was sexually assaulted on
board the ship on February 4, 2008. The married mother of three
said she was in one of the ship's nightclubs when a man offered to buy
her a drink. She declined the offer and said she was looking for her
friend. A short time later, the man returned and said he saw her friend
in another area of the nightclub. When the two walked to the other
area, the section was closed and the man forced the woman into a room
where he sexually assaulted her. The victim notified Carnival security
who investigated the incident, along with the FBI. The suspect, who was
a passenger, was identified in a photo line-up. The lawsuit alleges the
sexual assault might have been prevented if there had been adequate
security on the cruise ship. |
Sexual Assault |
| January 25, 2008 | Freedom of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A female passenger compained that she had been sexually assaulted by a male cruise passenger in a passenger cabin. | Sexual assault |
| January 19, 2008 | Disney Wonder Disney Cruise Line |
From the FBI: A male passenger (minor) complained of being stalked and propositioned by a male passenger. | Sexual harassment (minor) |
| January 15, 2008 | Carnival Valor Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: There was a complaint that two males (minors) were engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour while in the pool. | Sexual contact |
| January 13, 2008 | Fascination Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: An 18 year old passenger complained that she had been served a lot of alcohol and then sexual assaulted by a 33 year old man (unclear whether a crew member or passenger) (alcohol involved). | Sexually assault |
| January 12, 2008 | Carnival Conquest Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A 15 year old female complained that she had been sexually assaulted by a 21 year old male passenger while in a passenger cabin. | Sexual assault (minor) |
| January 11, 2008 | Adventure of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A minor female passenger complained that a male crew member accosted her in a stairwell, exposed himself and masturbated in front of her. | Sexual contact (minor) |
| January 10, 2008 | Caribbean Princess Princess Cruises |
From the FBI: A male passenger complained that he had been gabbed in the crotch several times by another male cruise passenger while in the elevator. | Sexual assault |
| January 10, 2008 | Pride of America NCL America |
From the FBI: A female crew member complained that she had been raped by a male crew member at 4:30 AM in a crew cabin. | Sexual assault |
| January 8, 2007 | Paradise Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: Two minor females complained that they had been grabbed by a male passenger while in the spa. | Sexual contact |
| January 7, 2008 | Carnival Triumph Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained that she had been touched and experienced inappropriate behaviour by a male guest while she was in a public bathroom at 11:15 PM. | Sexual contact |
| January 5, 2008 |
Pacific Star P&O Australia |
According to TV New Zealand, French police were called to the ship during a stopover in Lifou Island, in New Caldedonai's Loyalty Islands group where they removed and sent home a 37 year old Australian man who allegedly attacked a 46 year old New Zealander. The woman was found in a state of shock and and suffering bruises in the early hours of the morning of New Years day. She told police in New Caledonia she had been raped in the man's cabin while the ship was docked, but said she was too drunk to recall all the details, local sources said. It is understood the Australian man said he had engaged in consensual sex with the woman. Police are also investigating accusations of drink-spiking during the cruise (see Daily Telegraph). | Rape |
| December 31 | Carnival Spirit Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained that a male crew member had kissed her and touched her breast (unwanted) while in a public area at 2:45 AM. | Sexual contact |
| December 30, 2007 | Enchantment of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A female complained of being groped by male passenger while in a bar at 1:30 AM. | Sexual contact |
| December 30, 2007 | Serenity Crystal Cruises |
From the FBI: A female passenger (minor?) complained of being molested by a crew member in a public bathroom. | Sexual assault |
| December 27, 2007 | Adventure of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A femaile passenger complained that she had been sexually touched by a male masseur during a massage in the spa at 4:40 PM. | Sexual assault |
| December 26, 2007 | Navigator of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A female aged 17 complained that she had been sexually assaulted by a 22 year old male passenger at 1:30 AM. | Sexual assault |
| December 25, 2007 | Holiday Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained that she had been raped by a male crew member while walking on the open deck at 4:00 AM. | Rape |
| December 24, 2007 | Explorer of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A female passenger (15 year old) complained that she had been sexual assaulted by an unknown male at 2:00 AM. | Sexual assault (minor) |
| December 18, 2007 | Carnival Pride Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained that a male passenger had inappropriately touch a 12 year old and a 15 year old female passenger in a public area (alcohol involved). | Sexual assault (minor) |
| December 13, 2007 | Carnival Spirit Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained that she hasd been sexual assaulted by a male pasenger in a passenger cabin at 1:30 AM (alcohol involved). | Sexual assault |
| December 13, 2007 | Celebration Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained that she had been sexually harassed -- a male was showing pictures on his computer to minors. | Sexual harassment (minors) |
| December 12, 2007 | Valor Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A multiple female passengers complained that they were groped (breasts grabbed) while on a shore excursion by the shore excursion provider. | Sexual contact |
| December 12, 20007 | Galaxy Celebrity Cruises |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained that she had been groped (touched her breast) by a male crew member (Filipino) when in the theatre. | Sexual contact |
| December 4, 2007 | Sovereign of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A female passenger alleges whe was raped by a male passenger in her cabin at 11:00 PM. | Rape |
| November 29, 2007 | Victory Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A minor girl complained she had been sexually assaulted by a male passenger in a passenger cabin at 2:00 AM (alcohol involved). | Sexual assault (minor) |
| November 27, 2007 | Caribbean Princess Princess Cruises |
From the FBI: A female crew member complained a male crew member had filmed her having sex (at 3:00 AM) and then distributimng the film. | Sexual filming |
| November 27, 2007 | Ecstasy Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female crew member complained that a 48-year-old male passenger poked her in the breast at 11:00 PM in a public area (alcohol involved). | Sexual contact |
| November 24, 2007 | Caribbean Princess Princess Cruises |
From the FBI: A complaint was made by a 10 year old girl that a 62 year old male had exposed himself when she was in the public bathroom. | Sexual contact (minor) |
| November 24, 2007 | Caribbean Princess Princess Cruises |
From the FBI: A complaint was made by a female passenger that another female passenger (aged 62) invited her to engage in sex while in a public area. | Sexual contact |
| November 22, 2007 | Carnival Spirit Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A complaint was made by a female passenger that a male crew member knocked on her door at 1:00 AM. She opened the door and was sexually assaulted. | Sexual assault |
| November 21, 2007 | Celebration Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female crew member (Filipino) complained that she had been sexually assaulted by a male crew member (Ukraine) in a crew cabin. The incident occurred at 1:00 AM (alcohol involved). | |
| November 19, 2007 | Elation Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A complaint was made that a passenger kissed (unwanted) and made gestures, and sexual comments to a female minor while in the restaurant. | Sexual contact |
| November 18, 2007 | Majesty of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A complaint was made by a male passenger who was groped by another male passenger in the public bathroom at 8:15 PM (alcohol involved). | Sexual assault |
| November
13, 2007 |
Sovereign of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
The Bahama
Journal reports that a 28 year old Nicaraguan man is standing trial accused of forcing
himself on a 20 year old cruise passenger while she was asleep in a
friend's cabin on March 7, 2007. According to the article, the
young
woman had arrived in the Port of Nassau and shopped at
the Straw Market that afternoon. She testified that after dropping off
her
packages at the cruise ship and enjoying a few drinks at Senor Frogs in
downtown Nassau, she went to dinner with several of her friends. After
dinner, she said she returned to the cabin with three of her friends
and immediately went to sleep. She told the court she had no
recollection of what happened between that time and when she awoke to
discover she was naked from the waist down and the crew member was on
top of
her and had penetrated her. On November 19, the assailant was
acquitted. The case is laid out in Bahama Journal articles, if you are
interested in reading about the case. |
Sexual assault |
| November 12, 2007 |
Aurora P&O Cruises |
A British
newspaper reports that a 30 year old Indian waiter has been jailed
for
sexual assault of a 14 year old girl on a Mediterranean cruise. The
court heard how the waiter, who befriended the girl while serving her
family's table in the dining room, had persuaded the girl to follow him
while
she was waiting for a friend outside the restaurant one evening.
He led her around the ship to a toilet cubicle, locked the door
and sexually assaulted her.
He was sentenced to 15 months. |
Child sexual assault |
| November 7, 2007 | Elation Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained of being sexually assaulted while onshore. The incident occured at 1:30 AM (alcohol involved). | Sexual assault |
| November 5, 2011 | Elation Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained she had been groped (grabbed buttocks) by a male passenger while in the disco (alcohol involved). | Sexual contact |
| October 31, 2007 | Sovereign of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A male crew member complained he was groped by a male passenger in a public area at 1:40 AM (alcohol involved). | Sexual contact |
| October 29, 2007 | Paradise Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A female passenger complained that she had been groped by a male passenger at 1:30 AM in the disco (alcohol involved). | Sexual contact |
| October 25, 2007 | Sensation Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A femaiol passenger complained that she was raped by a male crew member (security guard) in her cabin at 2:30 AM (alcohol involved). | Sexual assault |
| October 24, 2007 | Mercury Celebrity Cruises |
From the FBI: A complaint by a male crew member of being groped by a male passenger in a public area. | Sexual contact |
| October 23, 2007 | Carnival Conquest Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A complaint by a 14 year old boy that he was molested by a male passenger in the steamroom at 8:35 AM. | Sexual assault (minor) |
| October 22. 2007 | Sensation Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A complaint of groping by male passenger of female passenger in the nightclub at 3:15 AM (alcohol involved). | Sexual contact |
| October 21, 2007 | Sovereign of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From the FBI: A complaint of groping by male passenger of female passenger in the nightclub at 1:55 AM. | Sexual contact |
| October 12, 2007 | Carnival Victory Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A complaint of groping by male passenger of female passenger in a public area (alcohol involved). | Sexual contact |
| October 11, 2011 | Fascination Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A complaint of sexual assault, passenger on passenger, in a passenger cabin. Viewed as "he said-she said" (alcohol involved). | |
| October 1, 2007 | Fantasy Carnival Cruise Lines |
From the FBI: A complaint of sexual assault, crew on crew, in crew cabin. Viewed as "he said-she said." | Sexual Assault |
| March 30, 2007 |
Carnival Glory Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Baltimore
Sun reports that Naval Academy midshipmen aboard the 10 - 17 March
cruise demonstrated behaviour that was misguided/immature, but not
criminal. According to a passenger, "eight to 10 male midshipmen
groped women, offered to buy alcohol for teenagers and displayed "lewd"
behavior while wearing bikini swim trunks and cowboy boots." The
newspaper includes the following quote: "I was 'felt up' by
one of the very drunk men and I was given the misfortune of watching
them grab and disrespect every woman they could get close to as well as
seeing them offer the underage [15- and 17-year-old] girls at our table
alcohol ... I cannot tell you strongly enough how EMBARRASSED these
"gentlemen" made me feel to be an American. I can only imagine what the
foreigners on our ship and in port thought of us." |
Sexual misconduct |
| January 25, 2007 |
Pacific Star P&O Australia |
A 16-year-old girl claims she was sexually assaulted
(presumably by another passenger) onboard the ship. The police
are investigating. Unrelated, during the investigation a
23-year-old Australian man was arrested and charged with possession of
a dangerous drug. |
Sexual Offense (Pax on Pax) |
| January 2, 2007 |
Disney Wonder Disney Cruise Line |
A 21 year old male passenger from New York was arrested in
the Bahamas after allegedly sexually assaulting a 13 year old girl
onboard the ship. The ship was on a four-day New Year's cruise
from Port Canaveral to Nassau return. |
Sexual Offense (Pax on
Pax) |