Cruise ship worker accused of hiding under guests’ beds and filming children showering
A former Royal Caribbean Cruises employee has been accused of setting up hidden cameras inside passenger cabins and filming children showering.
Arvin Joseph Mirasol, 34, was arrested on Sunday after the cruise line alerted Homeland Security and the Broward Sheriff’s Office of the crew member on 26 February.
It is alleged he placed a camera in a guest’s bathroom to record them. The ex-cruise worker faces charges of possession and production of child pornography, as well as six counts of video voyeurism, jail records show.
Mr Mirasol, a citizen of the Phillippines, was working aboard the Symphony of the Seas when he was detained as the vessel arrived in Port Everglades from Haiti, according to court records obtained by The Independent.
He turned over his electronics to Homeland Security and Border Patrol, who say they made disturbing discoveries when they searched his devices.
The authorities state they found video footage of naked females undressing in bathrooms, as well as indecent videos of children.
One such video captured a female child around 10 years old showering, while footage “clearly depicts” Mr Mirasol setting up the camera.
Law enforcement also looked at Mirasol’s search history, which included terms such as “hidden cameras” and “teen on bed.”
During an interview with authorities, Mr Mirasol admitted to taping a video camera in the guest’s bathrooms while he worked as a stateroom attendant, as well as admitting to entering rooms and hiding under the bed while guests were taking showers, recording them naked.
Mr Mirasol explained that after retrieving the camera from the bathroom, he would “pleasure himself and masturbate” after viewing the videos, the complaint states.
He also revealed he has been placing cameras in the bathroom since he started working on Symphony of the Seas around December last year, the documents claim.
He told authorities that he would choose females approximately aged 16 and over, and said, “If I Iike who is in that room, I place it.’’
He acknowledged that videoing underage girls was illegal. “I want to control it,” Mr Mirasol allegedly told the authorities, according to the complaint. “But I can’t.”
“We have zero tolerance for this unacceptable behaviour,” the Royal Caribbean Group said in a statement to The Independent.
“We immediately reported this to law enforcement and terminated the crew member, and we will continue to fully cooperate with authorities.”
Mr Mirasol’s appointed public defender told The Independent that they do not have a comment at this time.