Filipino cruise ship employees arrested, charged with serious sex crimes | TFC News Florida, USA
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In a troubling trend on the high seas, a Filipino crew member of the Disney Dream cruise ship was arrested on April 15 on a child pornography charge.
00:11.0
Court documents show Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents searched the cabin of 44-year-old Tirso Neri back in December.
00:21.3
The affidavit says Neri's two smartphones contained child abuse materials such as explicit photos and videos of minors.
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Records also show that Neri was booked into Broward County Jail in southern Florida.
00:36.2
Apparently, there's some kind of telegram or Facebook group chat that these pedophiles are exchanging pornographic photographs of minor children and they have them on their cell phones and they save these images on their cell phones.
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The latest report says that Neri was booked into Broward County Jail in southern Florida.
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The latest case follows the earlier arrests of Alvin Gonzalez and Amiel Trazo, both crew members of Disney Cruise directly hired from the Philippines.
01:09.8
Both were implicated in January for possession of pornographic material involving children.
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In a related case and a breach of privacy, a Filipino crew member of a Royal Caribbean vessel, Arvin Joseph Mirasol, faces five counts of voyeurism.
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Arrested in March, Mirasol confessed to installing hidden cameras.
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Mirasol confessed to installing hidden cameras in bathroom cabins according to a recent affidavit.
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He's also booked in a Broward County Jail with no chance of bail.
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And then recording video of the passengers, women, young women, children, getting undressed and using the facilities in the bathroom, showering.
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Disney Cruise and Royal Caribbean in statements to local media say they have zero tolerance policy for these kinds of unwanted behavior.
01:60.0
Miami-based civil trial lawyer Spencer Aronfeld has since called for a stringent vetting process in the cruise industry.
02:09.2
He also stresses the need to identify potential predators to prevent a repeat of the incidents.
02:15.8
Maybe they need to have a psychologist sit there and talk to the person for a few minutes before they hire them.
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Not just some HR guy, but somebody who's got a background in psychology and ask them key questions that might reveal that they're not the same person.
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They have an inclination to do these bizarre things.
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Aronfeld adds that even after the hiring process,
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the cruise line has an obligation to check if they are properly supervised and retained.
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In charge of this operation at a cruise line, I would say,
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Look, you want to work for us at Royal Caribbean?
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A, you go submit to a polygraph.
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B, you can't be alone, unsupervised.
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And C, you're going to submit to a polygraph, I don't know, once every six months?
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Once every quarter?
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The lawyer clarifies that while Filipino crew members were recently implicated in the cases,
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sexual misconduct is not unique to any nationality.
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It's just that a majority of crew members happen to be Filipinos.
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And quite frankly, Filipinos make excellent, excellent crew members.
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They're great with people.
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I mean, I'm stereotyping, but they're very good with people.
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They're very good with hospitality, a high degree of service,
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and they seem to deliver it with a degree of pleasure and pride
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that you don't see in a lot of other cultures.
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Aronfeld says there are already victims who approach him related to Mirasol's case.
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But he emphasizes that securing justice in court will require concrete evidence
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that demonstrates emotional or physical impact.
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Paul Guerrilao, ABS-CBN News, Pensacola, Florida.
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For more information, visit www.abs.gov.
