The passengers were aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas cruise ship.
Daniel Perez Garcia-Santos/Getty Images
Passengers are suing Royal Caribbean after a cabin attendant was found guilty of hidden recordings.A class-action lawsuit estimates that up to 960 passengers may have been secretly filmed.In a separate lawsuit, a former passenger said she had suffered from depression after finding out.
Passengers are suing the Royal Caribbean cruise line after a cabin attendant was sentenced to 30 years in prison for secretly recording adults and children in states of undress with hidden cameras.
Two lawsuits, one of which is a class action, were filed last week by passengers who said they were left traumatized after discovering they were victims of the recordings.
In one lawsuit, a Hawaii-based passenger, identified as Jane Doe, is seeking $75,000 in damages from Royal Caribbean.
The passenger said in the suit that she was a victim of a “perverted video voyeurism scheme” during her vacation aboard the Symphony of the Seas in January.
According to the suit, the passenger was informed in April by the Broward Sheriff’s Office Special Victim’s Unit that she had been recorded while nude in her bathroom and stateroom.
It said “the trauma and humiliation of viewing these videos,” along with the knowledge that others had viewed them, caused her “lasting emotional and psychological harm.”
The suit added that the passenger had suffered depression, panic attacks, and irritable bowel syndrome since finding out, and that she has undergone therapy to cope with the trauma.
The suit follows the sentencing of Arvin Joseph Mirasol, who was her cabin attendant. Mirasol received a sentence of 30 years in federal prison in August after pleading guilty to producing child sexual abuse material.
Bernardo Pimentel, a lawyer with Leesfield & Partners who is representing the passenger, told Business Insider that, “We have to hold these companies accountable for the actions, the heinous actions, of their employees.”
Pimentel said the timing of the lawsuit follows an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a solution with Royal Caribbean, adding that it is entirely coincidental that another suit was filed in the same week.
In the separate class-action lawsuit, led by a passenger from New Hampshire, also identified as Jane Doe, the plaintiff said she was on the Symphony of the Seas in late February when Marisol hid a camera in her bathroom and captured her while undressed and “engaging in private activities.”
The camera was discovered in late February, the lawsuit said.
According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection seized Mirasol’s electronic devices in early March, after a passenger reported finding a hidden camera.
Investigators found videos of children in various states of undress, as well as footage of naked women.
The August press release said Mirasol had been placing cameras in cabins since December 2023, as well as hiding under beds while guests showered so he could secretly record them leaving the bathroom.
The class-action suit estimates there could be up to 960 victims, based on the number of cruises, cabins attended by Mirasol, and passengers per cabin.
The passenger behind it said she fears footage secretly taken of her may have been distributed on the internet, including on the dark web, causing her to live in “constant fear” that others are viewing it.
The suit claims that Royal Caribbean holds vicarious liability for the emotional distress Marisol caused, and also accused the cruise line of negligence.
It argues that Royal Caribbean should have foreseen the risk of sexual assault, given the prevalence of such incidents on ships.
According to a 2023 Business Insider analysis of data provided by the US Department of Transportation, of the approximate 500 incidents of sexual assault documented aboard 13 major cruise lines from January 2010 to September 2022, about 70% occurred on either Royal Caribbean or Carnival ships.
Royal Caribean did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Royal Caribbean Cruises stock closed at $203.35 on Tuesday, up 1.72%, and close to the 52-week-high reached last Thursday.
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