Cruise ship worker gets 30 years for planting hidden cameras in cabins, recording children
A Fort Lauderdale federal judge sentenced a former Royal Caribbean Cruise Line worker to 30 years in prison Wednesday for planting multiple hidden cameras in guests’ rooms, recording victims that included children as young as 2, prosecutors said.
Sep 4
/
Local10 News
Arvin Joseph Mirasol, a 34-year-old Philippine national, had pleaded guilty to producing child sexual abuse material, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
He was arrested in March by Broward County deputies after the Symphony of the Seas returned to Port Everglades, originally on state charges. Royal Caribbean fired Mirasol. Authorities said he had been detained at sea by ship security officers after a woman and her two young daughters discovered a hidden camera in their bathroom on Feb. 25, one day after setting sail from South Florida.
He was arrested in March by Broward County deputies after the Symphony of the Seas returned to Port Everglades, originally on state charges. Royal Caribbean fired Mirasol. Authorities said he had been detained at sea by ship security officers after a woman and her two young daughters discovered a hidden camera in their bathroom on Feb. 25, one day after setting sail from South Florida.
Investigators said the stateroom attendant admitted to serially spying on young girls as soon as he started working on the Symphony of the Seas in December. Mirasol admitted to placing hidden cameras in multiple rooms, court documents stated. Investigators said they found videos on a USB stick belonging to Mirasol containing “numerous videos of naked females undressing in the bathroom as well as videos of child pornography.”
One video described in a federal criminal complaint was of a girl, appearing to be 10 years old, undressing and showering, her genitals “clearly visible” and “the focus of the video.”
One video described in a federal criminal complaint was of a girl, appearing to be 10 years old, undressing and showering, her genitals “clearly visible” and “the focus of the video.”
Authorities said they also found multiple voyeurism-related searches on Mirasol’s phone, including “teen on bed.”
“I want to control it, but I can’t,” he told federal investigators, according to the charging documents. When asked how he decides which rooms to place cameras in, investigators said Mirasol told them, “If I like who is in that room, I place it,” saying he would choose teenage girls 16 and over.
He admitted to knowing that doing so was illegal, authorities said, and “also stated that while the guests were taking a shower, he would enter the rooms and hide under the bed while recording them naked with his cellular device.”
Authorities encouraged anyone who suspects that they were a victim of a crime on a cruise ship, including sexual abuse and child sexual abuse material, to contact the Homeland Security Investigations tip line at 1-866-347-2423.
Authorities encouraged anyone who suspects that they were a victim of a crime on a cruise ship, including sexual abuse and child sexual abuse material, to contact the Homeland Security Investigations tip line at 1-866-347-2423.
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