SEARCH FOR SEX-CRIME VICTIMS ON CRUISE SHIPS INTENSIFIES AS
FLORIDA TRAVELERS LINE UP TO SUE
A class-action lawsuit was filed Tuesday, October 15th against Royal Caribbean and one of its former employees, room attendant
Arvin Mirasol.
Mirasol admitted to installing cameras and recording passengers, including children, during previous cruises dating back to December 2023.
At least 23
people have been notified by police that they were recorded on a Royal Caribbean cruise, and they’ve hired lawyers.
The complaint defines the class as
passengers aboard Symphony of the Seas between Dec. 1, 2023, and Feb. 26, 2024, who stayed in cabins serviced by Mirasol.
The lawsuit comes less than two months
after Mirasol was sentenced in Fort Lauderdale federal court to 30 years in prison on a charge of producing child pornography.
Two additional Miami law firms
say they expect to file civil lawsuits against the cruise company. The lawsuits could reveal the number of victims is far greater than initially identified. As more victims are discovered, it is likely that several more lawsuits may be brought against Royal Caribbean in the coming months.
Mirasol still faces charges in Florida state court of up to 15 counts of “video voyeurism.” A hearing in Broward Circuit Court set for Oct. 15 was canceled and has not yet been rescheduled.
In his plea agreement, Mirasol admitted he had been placing cameras in guest room bathrooms “since he started working on Symphony of the Seas around December 2023.”
That means he could have worked on 12 different cruises before the one where he was caught.
This year, at least 16 crew members from several cruise giants have returned to South Florida ports on their ships only to get hauled away in handcuffs, according to Jim Walker, co-founder of the firm Walker & O’Neil
Maritime Lawyers. Almost all were charged with possession or transport of child pornography, a federal crime.
This
comes as law enforcement agents are trying to slow the spread of images across the dark corners of the internet.
