A Disney crew member is heading toward trial in Miami-Dade County on multiple criminal charges that he engaged in lewd and lascivious molestation of a ten year old child aboard the Disney Magic.
The Miami-Dade County Police Department arrested 24 year old Oliver Lovatt on allegation that he sexually molested a young boy in the “Oceaneer Kids Lab” aboard the Disney Magic last April.
Disney Cruise Line ‘youth host’ accused of molesting boy during cruise https://t.co/WvWJ1IStFo pic.twitter.com/h5xqlhyavB
— WESH 2 News (@WESH) October 11, 2019
The Miami Herald reports that “Lovatt blindfolded a 10-year-old boy and spun him around several times as part of a game. It was at that time he ‘fondled the victim’s penis outside of the clothing,’ according to a Miami-Dade police arrest report. The boy also told police that the Disney youth counselor sat next to him while he was playing a game building a house of cards. When Lovatt reportedly moved his hand towards the child, the boy covered his genitals, fearing he’d be fondled again.
Lovatt is from Manchester, Britain where he excelled in acting, dancing and singing in his youth.
The Herald also reported that the molestation was captured by surveillance cameras and Lovatt confessed to police that he fondled the child.
The criminal trial of Lovatt (photo right, before he began working for Disney) is scheduled to begin in two weeks on Octobeer 28, 2019 before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson. Althought the incident occurred in April, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is just now asking the public whether “there are any other victims out there.” (Anyone with information can call the Miami-Dade Special Victims Bureau at 305-715-3300). There appears to be no efforts to date by Disney to inform families who traveled on the Disney Magic of the pedophile tendencies of its employee, and ask the parents to be on the look out for signs of sexual abuse after their cruises.
Around one-third of sexual assault victims on cruise ships are reportedly minors. And there have been many reported sexual assaults of victims on cruise ships operated by Disney Cruises, which obviously caters to children.
Here are some examples of prior cases where children were attacked during cruises on Disney cruises:
In December of 2015, a 31 year old crew member was arrested for molesting an 11-year-old girl. The crime also occured aboard the Disney Magic. The Miami-Dade police detained the crew member when it returned to the port of Miami, where he confessed to the crime. He was charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor and sentenced to jail. We are representing the child and her parents in a claim against Disney.
In 2014, a a 33 year-old Disney waiter molested an 11 year-old girl aboard the Disney Dream at the port of Cape Canaveral. The staff captain of the ship reportedly ordered a security officer to “keep her mouth shut” after she investigated the sexual assault of the child. Disney then sailed the ship and the perpetrator out of the jurisdiction and flew him back to his home in India from the next port (Nassau).
The security officer said that she felt like Disney tried to sweep the crime under the carpet, partly because the little girl and her grandmother were Brazilian. “Disney wouldn’t have got away with it if they were Americans,” she said. Read more here: Did Disney Cruise Lines Cover Up Sexual Molestation of 11 Year Old Girl on Disney Dream?
We created a Facebook photo album of images from the investigation which was aired by WKMG Channel 6 in Orlando, which you can see here.
A 24 year old passenger was indicted in 2010 for sexually abusing a 13 year old girl on the Disney Wonder. The girl attended a program at the cruise ship’s teen club with other girls. The adult passenger approached the girls, claiming to be an employee of the cruise line, and told them to return to their rooms. He instructed the child in question to follow him because he was allegedly a security officer with the cruise ship. When they reached an area where no other people were around, he then assaulted the girl. A federal district court sentenced the passenger to 46 months in prison and ordered him to pay restitution.
We also suggest reading: Denial, Skepticism Plague Sexual Assaults Against Passengers on Cruises.
Have a comment? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.
Photographs / screengrab: Miami Dade Police Department (top); Vimeo – Oliver Lovatt (middle); WKMG (bottom).