Yesterday, U.S. Customs and Border Protective Services arrested a rape suspect who had flown to Miami to go on a Carnival cruise aboard the Destiny.

The Georgetown Times newspaper reports that 32-year-old Tyrone Green has been on the run for two years after he allegedly brutally attacked and raped a 77-year-old woman in her home in South Carolina during the week of Christmas 2007.  But his freedom came to an end Monday when he tried to board a cruise ship in Miami yesterday.

Green was recently placed into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computers after evidence matched him to the scene of the Dec. 22, 2007 attack.  When the Customs agents checked Green’s name in the NCIC database, they realized that he was wanted in Georgetown for the rape.

The case is reminiscent of the arrest of another passenger who was arrested in Tampa earlier this year.

Steven Mark Anthony Requena, 28, was arrested while on the Carnival Cruise Ship "Inspiration" at the Port of Tampa.

His name was flagged by a sweep of the manifest of passengers by Homeland Security officials who determined that the passenger was wanted for sexual assault in addition to assault with a weapon and forcible confinement. 

Unlike Mr. Green who was nabbed before he boarded the Carnival cruise ship, Requena was arrested after he cruised for a week.  The U.S. Marshals arrested him only after the cruise ship returned to port.

What was interesting about the Requena arrest was that the U.S. Marshall’s office brought a photographer and videographer and filmed the rape suspect as he was forced to make a "perp walk" down the crew gangway and along side the ship.  The Tampa Tribune then blasted a headline "Breaking News: Marshals Arrest Rape Suspect at Tampa Cruise Terminal," complete with photos of the arrest.  

What a production!  Hey, don’t get me wrong – our U.S. Marshals deserve the recognition! 

But the problem remains that arrests of rape suspects are rare on cruise ships.  You will never see a photograph or video of a cruise line employee who is accused of raping a passenger making a "perp walk."  

The cruise lines would never let that happen.

Our government does a pretty good job of arresting U.S. citizens trying to board cruise ships who are accused of raping a victim ashore, but a terrible job arresting rapists who attack victims on cruise ships.

   

 

Credits:

Tyronne Green     Georgetown Times newspaper, Georgetown South Carolina

Steven Mark Anthony Requena   United States Marshal’s Office