The Baltimore Sun reports today that a Grand Jury in Baltimore, Maryland indicted a Royal Caribbean crewmember of sexually abusing a minor during a cruise ship out of Baltimore.
According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, crewmember Fabian Palmer, age 25, befriended a 14 year old girl and her family during a cruise that departed from Baltimore on December 17, 2010.
The newspaper reports that on December 23, 2011, the victim told authorities that she was alone on a deck on the cruise ship when crewmember Palmer took her into a men’s locker room and "began having sex with her." He stopped only when another employee knocked on the door.
The cruise ship’s CCTV video cameras captured images of the crewmember, the victim and a second employee outside the locker room around the same time that the victim said the abuse occurred, according to the newspaper. During an interviewed by Royal Caribbean security, crewmember Palmer admitted having sex with the girl, but claims that he believed that she was 16.
The newspaper does not identify the cruise ship, but it appears that it involved the Adventure of the Seas.
The Grand Jury returned the indictment yesterday.
The FBI has special maritime jurisdiction to investigate crimes like this involving U.S. citizens on the high seas. An adult engaging in sexual intercourse with a 14 year old minor is in violation of federal law and is considered to be "sexual abuse" which can be prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
Mr. Palmer’s facebook page indicates that he is from Jamaica and worked as a pool attendant on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship. His facebook page shows him fraternizing with numerous women around the cruise ship pool and other areas of the ship. The photos are all from his facebook page.
This incident comes at a time when the international media is reporting on the rape of a 15 year old girl on another Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the Allure of the Sea.
The newspaper reports that Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to a request for comment today.
A similar incident occurred in November on a Carnival cruise ship when a crewmember identified as Kert Clyde Jordan, age 35, a waiter from the country of Grenada, took a 14 year old child into a bathroom on the Carnival Liberty cruise ship.
He was indicted on sexual abuse and is in jail in Miami awaiting trial.
You can read about that incident here and here.
Do you have information about any of these crewmembers or incidents? Please leave a comment below.