Royal Caribbean International passengers have filed a class action lawsuit against the company and former crew members, alleging that up to 960 people may have been victims of hidden cameras installed in the ship's restrooms.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of Symphony of the Seas passenger Jane Doe and “all other similarly situated passengers.”
The filing comes nearly a month after Philippine employee Irvin Joseph Mirasol pleaded guilty to producing child pornography and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
On February 25, a passenger on the ship discovered a hidden camera mounted on the counter under the bathroom sink and alerted the ship's security. Mr. Mirasol, the state agent, was detained until the cruise ship docked in Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
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A class action lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida names Royal Caribbean Cruises and crew member Irvin Joseph Mirasol as defendants. The photo is of the Symphony of the Seas, a ship that Marisol recorded without the passengers' knowledge. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
Law enforcement found numerous videos on his electronic devices of children ranging in age from 2 to 17 wearing various outfits, the department said. But Mirasol's surveillance was not limited to children, according to the complaint.
“Based on information and belief, Mirasol may, without Plaintiff’s prior consent, post images of Plaintiff undressed and engaged in private activities to third parties and/or to third parties, including but not limited to the dark web. “No knowledge or consent transmitted and/or uploaded to the World Wide Web,'' the complaint states.
According to the complaint, Mirasol allegedly hid under the passenger's bed, watched him and filmed him taking a shower.
The complaint alleges that Royal Caribbean “should have known that sexual assault was reasonably foreseeable given the prevalence of sexual assault on RCCL's cruise ships” and that the company warned guests and They argue that staff should have been properly trained.
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On August 28, Irvin Joseph Mirasol was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. (Broward County Jail)
According to the complaint, a total of 26 sexual assaults and rapes were reported during the 2023 RCCL cruise. In 2022, 22 sexual assaults were reported on RCCL cruises. There were 131 allegations of sexual assault on cruise ships in 2023, up from 87 in 2022 and 101 in 2019. USA Today reported.
According to the complaint, the cruise line failed to notify other passengers in the cabins Mirasol served between Dec. 1, 2023 and Feb. 26, 2024. Up to 960 passengers may have been filmed, the complaint alleges.
“Sexual assault, including voyeurism, on cruise ships is at an all-time high and needs to be addressed,” Ripcon attorney Jason Margulies of Margulies & Winkleman in Pennsylvania, who is representing the plaintiffs, told Fox News Digital. .
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A partial view of the Symphony of the Seas, a tourist ship owned by US company Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (RCCL), taken on March 23, 2018 at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, western France. (Loïc Venance/AFP via Getty Images)
“Royal Caribbean became aware of this issue in March 2023 when hidden cameras were discovered in public toilets on the pool decks of its ships, and has since taken steps to protect passengers from a recurrence like this. The cruises lasted nearly three months on 12 cruises and were attended by up to 960 passengers, many of whom were children,'' Marguire said.
“Because Royal Caribbean failed to protect their privacy and allowed Mirasol to victimize these passengers, countless pornographic images of these unsuspecting passengers will forever circulate on the Internet. No one knows what will happen.”
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Royal Caribbean International did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment as of press time.
