Cruise Crew Member Arrested on Child Porn Charges
The laws are different when you’re at sea, but that doesn’t mean that anything goes. Many people seem to think that possessing child pornography is OK when you’re in international waters, but the truth is you can and will get caught eventually.
A Royal Caribbean employee knows this first hand. The 36-year-old man was recently arrested on child porn charges while disembarking from a ship returning to Florida at Port Everglades. The crew member, from Myanmar, was allegedly found with two videos on his phone during a search. One video was in a hidden folder and another was in an application called Browser.
One video depicts a child between the ages of 10 and 12 acting in a sexual manner, with the second depicts a child between 12 and 14 years old removing her clothes and acting sexual.
According to the complaint, there was a confession from the man, but the entire statement is redacted. He has been charged with two counts of child porn possession.
Apparently this has been a trend, with eight cruise ship crew members arrested for child porn charges in Florida in the past several months. Police officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department arrested a 32 year-old man, a Royal Caribbean crew member who worked on the Wonder of the Seas. He has been charged with child pornography possession and bestiality after officers found two videos on his phone of girls as young as 5 years old being sexually assaulted by men. There was also a video of a woman engaging in sexual intercourse with a horse. The man is being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on an immigration hold.
This has been a trend since February. Six additional cruise ship employees have been arrested for possessing child sexual abuse materials:
- A 44-year-old crew member from the Disney Dream
- A 49-year-old crew member from the Disney Dream
- A 28-year-old crew member from the Disney Dream
- A 28-year-old man employed by RWS Global as a dancer and performer on a Holland America Line cruise ship
- A 44-year-old crew member from the Celebrity Reflection
Some of these crew members possessed child pornography of children as young as 2 years old.
Contact Us Today
Many people, especially immigrants, may be unaware of laws regarding child porn in the United States. This is likely because consent laws are different in other countries. For example, the legal age of sexual consent in the Philippines is just 12 years old.
If you have been arrested for possessing explicit images of children, contact a Florida child pornography lawyer from the Law Offices of Gilbert A. Schaffnit right away. These crimes can be embarrassing, but we will approach you and your case in a respectful, non-judgmental, and confidential manner. Schedule a consultation today by filling out the online form or calling (352) 505-1799.
Source:
wfla.com/news/florida/royal-caribbean-employee-arrested-on-child-porn-charges-as-cruise-ship-returns-to-florida/