Tonight a local news station in Florida reportied on a case involving a cruise line which markets itself as being family friendly and kid oriented.
At 11 PM tonight, WKMG-Channel 6 in Orlando aired what is being described as a "shocking report about a Disney Cruise Line employee fondling an 11-year-old girl and the strange events that followed."
The news station states that it has video of a Disney crew member groping an 11-year-old girl in August 2012.
The article is entitled Disney Cruise Line Fails to Promptly Report Molestation of 11-Year-Old Girl in Port
The incident occurred on the Disney Dream cruise ship before it departed Port Canaveral for a Caribbean cruise. The crew member followed the child into an elevator and "repeatedly grabbed her breast through her clothes and forcibly kissed her on the mouth as he cornered her in an elevator on the Disney Dream."
The news station states that Disney knew what happened, and had video evidence substantiating the child’s account. But it chose not to promptly report the crime to the local police in Florida. Instead, it reported the crime the next day, after the ship was headed to the Bahamas. The news station accuses Disney of lying and trying to cover the incident up. Once the cruise ship reached the Bahamas, the crew member – identified as Milton Braganza from India (photo bottom) – eventually admitted to molesting the child. Disney then flew the crew member home to India, at the cruise line’s expense, rather than arrange for him to return to Florida to be arrested.
In our experiences over the years, we have seen cruise ships delay reporting crimes to the FBI and local law enforcement authorities in the U.S. Disney registers its cruise ships in the Bahamas to avoid U.S. taxes and wages and safety laws. By delaying the reporting of the alleged crime, Disney was able to avoid the U.S. investigation into the incident while making certain that any investigation was handled only by the Bahamas which, theoretically can investigate shipboard crimes because Disney cruise ships fly Bahamian flags of convenience.
But the Bahamas has a deplorable record of investigating cruise ship crimes.
The news reporter who covered the story, Tony Pipitone, stated in a promotional piece: "Find out what happened to the 33-year-old man who avoided investigation in Florida, thanks in part to his employer’s inaction."
Pipitone, referred to Disney having "conflicting accounts of what it knew [and] when it knew it." He mentioned that "he talked to Port Canaveral police, who say they would have liked to know about the crime, which the cruise line didn’t report promptly."
Sexual abuse of children during cruises, including Disney cruises, is something we have written about at length here on our blog:
Passenger Indicted for Sexual Abuse of 13 Year Old Girl on Disney Wonder Cruise Ship
Sexual Perverts & Pedophiles on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships
Cruise Lines Are A Perfect Place To Sexually Abuse Children
Last week this news station reported on cruise crime on a Disney ship which revealed that crimes are often not prosecuted by federal authorities. You can watch that report here.
Middle Photo: WKMG Channel 6 Orlando
Bottom Photo: Milton Bragnanza Facebook