A Royal Caribbean passenger has filed a lawsuit against the cruise line, claiming that as many as 960 people were victims of a hidden onboard camera.
The camera was discovered by a female passenger under the sink of a Symphony of the Seas cabin bathroom on 25 February and reported to ship security.
On discovery, ship stateroom attendant Arvin Joseph Mirasol of the Philippines was detained until the Royal Caribbean ship docked at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.
According to the lawsuit, videos of children between the ages of two and 17 were found on his electronic devices.
The attendant allegedly uploaded images of passengers undressed and “engaging in private activities” to third parties and online without consent.
Mirasol was also accused of “hiding under the bed” while recording guests naked as passengers showered.
In August, Mirasol, 34, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography.
The lawsuit by ‘Jane Doe’ and “all other similarly situated passengers” was filed in the Southern District of Florida last Tuesday.
It claims the plaintiff suffered “severe emotional distress” and “physical sickness” due to the incident.
Jason Margulies, an attorney representing the plaintiff, told Fox News Digital that sexual assaults, including voyeurism, aboard cruise ships are “at an all-time high and need to be addressed”.
The lawsuit states that sexual assaults were “reasonably foreseeable” due to previous reports of sexual assaults aboard Royal Caribbean ships.
In January, it was revealed that nearly 70 per cent of all reported sexual assaults on US cruises since 2010 had happened on ships run by Royal Caribbean or Carnival.
Mr Margulies said: “Royal Caribbean became aware of this problem in March of 2023 when a hidden camera was found in a public bathroom on the pool deck of one of its ships, yet it has seemingly done nothing since then to protect its passengers from reoccurrences – like these instances which went on for nearly three months, over the course of 12 cruises, and involved up to 960 passengers including many children.”
“Who knows how many countless numbers of pornographic images of these unsuspecting passengers will be circulating on the internet forever because Royal Caribbean failed to protect their privacy,” added the attorney with Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman.
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean told The Independent: “The safety and privacy of our guests is our highest priority, and we have zero tolerance for this behaviour. We immediately reported this case to law enforcement and terminated the crew member. As this is pending litigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
The Independent has contacted Royal Caribbean for further information.
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