A cruise ship crew member was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in federal prison for installing hidden cameras in guests’ bathrooms to produce child pornography, authorities said.
Arvin Joseph Mirasol pled guilty to producing child pornography while he worked as a stateroom attendant aboard the Symphony of the Seas cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean Group, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida said.
Mirasol was discovered when a guest on Feb. 25 found a hidden camera affixed to the counter under the sink in their bathroom and they reported the camera to ship security.
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He was detained until the ship docked at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on March 3, when Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection officials boarded and began investigating.
“Law enforcement discovered that Mirasol’s electronics contained numerous videos of children in various stages of undress. The focus of the videos was on the children’s genital areas. One video showed Mirasol himself installing a camera in a guest’s bathroom,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.
The children in the videos were between 2 and 17 years old.
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Authorities said Mirasol would also enter guests’ rooms while they were showering and hide under their beds so he could secretly record them exiting the shower.
Mirasol, a citizen of the Philippines, had been placing cameras in passenger cabins since December 2023, according to the news release.
In a statement back in March, the Broward Sheriff's Office said their Special Victims Unit detectives were working with Homeland Security Investigations agents to find more possible victims.
Authorities said anyone with information regarding suspected crimes on cruise ships, including sexual abuse and child pornography offenses, is encouraged to contact the HSI tip line at 1-866-347-2423.
