Southwest
Cruise ship passengers from across US sue after worker sentenced for placing hidden cameras in guest rooms
Nineteen passengers, including four minors, who cruised on board Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Sea are suing the cruise line and a former company employee, who placed hidden cameras in their guest rooms.
Arvin Joseph Mirasol, a citizen of the Philippines and former Royal Caribbean crew member named in the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, was sentenced in August in Florida to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography.
The passengers, who were not named in the lawsuit and rather referred to by abbreviations, are mostly American citizens from all across the country, including New York, Georgia, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas, while several passengers are from Canada.
The latest suit, obtained by Fox News Digital, comes months after a separate class-action lawsuit was filed against Mirasol and the Miami-based cruise line in October, alleging that as many as 960 people may have been victims of a hidden camera in a bathroom on board.
“This is an extraordinarily unusual case in that the pool of victims can be nearly 1,000 or more men, women and children,” Spencer Aronfeld with Aronfeld Trial Lawyers, who represent the 19 cruise ship passengers, told Fox News Digital.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISE LINE SUED OVER HIDDEN CAMERA THAT MAY HAVE FILMED HUNDREDS OF PASSENGERS: LAWSUIT
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida, names Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and crew member Arvin Joseph Mirasol as defendants. Pictured is the Symphony of the Seas, the ship on which Marisol recorded passengers without their knowledge. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP)
The new lawsuit alleges that during his time working as a stateroom attendant on the cruise line from December 2023 through February 2024, Mirasol “taped a video camera containing a memory card in the Plaintiffs’ passenger cabin bathrooms and captured images of the Plaintiffs while undressed and engaging in private activities,” without their knowledge or consent, adding that he then uploaded these images “to third parties and/or to the world wide web, including, but not limited to, the dark web.”
“For those who had their images recorded, uploaded on the internet and potentially sold on the dark web – this has created deep emotional pain, sleepless nights and tearful days,” Aronfeld told Fox News Digital.
Lawyers for the alleged victims also argue in the suit that Royal Caribbean “should have known sexual assaults were reasonably foreseeable considering the prevalence of sexual assaults aboard [Royal Caribbean’s] cruise ships.”
There were a total of 26 sexual assaults and rapes reported during Royal Caribbean cruises in 2023, and 22 sexual assaults reported during Royal Caribbean cruises in 2022, according to the Secretary of Transportation, the documents continue.
Overall data shows that sexual assault allegations on cruise ships rose in 2023, with 131 sex crimes reported to the FBI on ships embarking and disembarking in the United States in 2023, up from 87 in 2022, lawyers wrote.
MAN ON VACATION WITH FAMILY GOES OVERBOARD ON NORWEGIAN CRUISE SHIP IN BAHAMAS
Arvin Joseph Mirasol was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on Aug. 28, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida. (Broward County Jail)
In addition to the crimes committed on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, a hidden camera was installed in a public bathroom on the top deck of another Royal Caribbean cruise ship – Harmony of the Seas – during a cruise which left Miami on April 29, 2023, according to the lawsuit.
The camera allegedly recorded more than 150 people, including at least 40 children, using the Royal Caribbean bathroom “in various stages of undress” until the hidden camera was discovered by a passenger on May 1, 2023, lawyers wrote.
Royal Caribbean “failed to take adequate steps and/or provide adequate security and/or training and/or supervision to prevent such sexual assaults, including video voyeurism, to occur aboard its cruise ships,” the lawsuit states, adding that the cruise line also “failed to warn its passengers of sexual assaults, including video voyeurism, occurring aboard its cruise ships.”
Lawyers argue that the motive behind this was “financial in nature,” explaining that Royal Caribbean “willfully chooses not to warn its passengers about sexual assaults, including video voyeurism, aboard its cruise ships so as not to scare any prospective passengers away.”
ROYAL CARIBBEAN PASSENGER DIES SOON AFTER BEING DETAINED FOR CHAOTIC INCIDENT CAUGHT ON VIDEO
A partial view of the U.S. company Royal Caribbean Cruise Limited tourism cruise liner Symphony of the Seas. (LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)
As a result of Mirasol’s crimes, his alleged victims “suffer from severe emotional distress, which manifests physically, causing [them] physical sickness, sweating, nausea, insomnia, dizziness, crying, and physical pain,” their attorneys wrote, adding that the former cruise travelers “live in constant fear, reasonably under the circumstances, that images of the Plaintiffs undressed while engaging in private activities are regularly viewed by others and used for illicit purposes.”
Aronfeld Trial Lawyers, on behalf of the alleged victims, are demanding trial by jury.
“Our mission is to fully investigate this case on behalf of our clients and hold RCL accountable for failing to properly vet, hire, supervise and retain Mr. Mirasol,” Aronfeld told Fox News Digital. “We have confidence that the jury will have no problem returning a substantial verdict in favor of the victims.”
Royal Caribbean International did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Christina Coulter contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
“He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life, including when she ate, slept and showered,” prosecutors said.
In May 2025, Shabazz was arrested and has remained in federal custody. His last known address at the time was in Washington, D.C.
On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
The star-studded feel-good giveback event of the summer has returned. KTLA 5 is teaming up once again with Project Angel Food for the annual “Lead with Love: Going the Distance” telethon to raise critical funds for medically tailored meals delivered to people living with serious illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. The seventh annual telethon airs […]
A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
-
Los Angeles, Ca21 minutes agoMan found guilty of sex trafficking victim along L.A.’s Figueroa Corridor
-
Detroit, MI41 minutes agoNo. 23 overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft | Detroit Red Wings
-
San Francisco, CA50 minutes agoSan Francisco Pride kicks off with rainbow lasers, ValQueeries celebrate at Valkyries Pride Night
-
Dallas, TX56 minutes agoHow to buy Egypt vs. Australia World Cup soccer tickets
-
Miami, FL1 hour agoHelping Venezuela: Miami search-and-rescue team prepares to deploy
-
Boston, MA1 hour agoHow to buy Paraguay vs. Germany 2026 World Cup tickets in Boston
-
Denver, CO1 hour agoDenver Broncos Roster Breakdown: Center—The Depth Question
-
Seattle, WA1 hour agoIran-Egypt: Seattle World Cup Pride match updates
