U.S. Customs and Border Protection said 27 cruise ship crewmembers were deported after an investigation found they had engaged with child sexual exploitation material. CBP officers boarded eight vessels between April 23 and April 27; 27 of 28 interviewed were found to have been involved in CSEM offenses. Most crewmembers were from the Philippines; others were from Portugal and Indonesia. Visas were canceled and the individuals were returned to their home countries.
CBP Deports 27 Cruise Ship Crew Over Child Pornography; Disney and Holland America Say They Cooperated
The Disney Magic cruise ship sails in the Hudson River in 2022. (Gary Hershorn / Getty Images file)(Gary Hershorn)
SAN DIEGO — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that 27 cruise ship crewmembers were deported after investigators determined they had engaged with child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), commonly referred to as child pornography.
CBP said the cases surfaced after officers boarded eight cruise ships between April 23 and April 27 as part of an ongoing CSEM investigation. Following interviews, the agency concluded that 27 of the 28 crewmembers questioned were involved in one or more offenses related to receipt, possession, transportation, distribution or viewing of CSEM. Their visas were canceled and they were returned to their countries of origin.
Nationality and privacy: CBP said 26 of the crewmembers are from the Philippines, one is from Portugal and one is from Indonesia. The agency declined to release their names.
Law enforcement and prosecution: CBP did not immediately say whether any of the individuals will face criminal charges in U.S. courts. An FBI spokesperson referred questions about potential prosecutions to CBP. CBP also did not immediately disclose what prompted the inspections or led to the operation.
Disney Cruise Line statement: A Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said the company fully cooperated with law enforcement and reiterated a “zero-tolerance policy” for this type of behavior. The statement added that while most of the identified individuals were not from Disney Cruise Line, those who were employed by the line are no longer with the company.
Holland America statement: A Holland America spokesperson confirmed that some of its crewmembers were implicated, described the allegations as “deeply disturbing,” and said the line is cooperating with CBP. Holland America said the crewmembers involved have been terminated.
NBC San Diego reported that at least one of the CBP enforcement actions took place aboard the Disney ship Magic while it was docked at B-Street Pier on San Diego Bay. The Port of San Diego Harbor Police said it did not participate in the operation because state law prevents it from taking part in immigration enforcement and because the terminal is a federal port of entry under CBP’s authority.
The reporting was contributed by Joe Kottke in New York and Dennis Romero in San Diego. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com.
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