Content Warning: This article contains references to child sexual abuse, animal abuse and sexual assault of minors.
Local10 News in Miami reports that a 35-year-old crew member appeared in federal court yesterday after federal agents found child sexual abuse material and bestiality videos on his phone after he disembarked at PortMiami on Sunday.
According to the local news station, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents searched the cellphone of Ferry Maryanto, on Sunday afternoon, which revealed “multiple videos/photographs” depicting child sexual abuse material. The station did not identify his home country, although some people tell me that “Maryanto” is a common name in Indonesia.
The videos on the ship employee’s cell phone showed “boys and girls being raped or otherwise sexually abused by men or women.” Miami-Dade Police, who arrested the crew member, said the videos depicted victims “between the ages of 3 and 10 years old being sexually abused.”
Maryanto was also found to be in possession of videos that depicted videos of bestiality, including “multiple videos of women engaging in sexual activity with a horse, pig and dog.”
The local news station reports that Maryanto “made a confession to detectives when being interviewed.”
Maryanto faces 10 counts of possession of child pornography and three counts of sexual conduct with animals. He was being held (on an immigration hold) at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service as of Monday. His bond was set at $2,500 per count.
The arrest report did not disclose the name of Maryanta’s cruise ship employer or the ship where he worked. The only cruise ships in port in Miami last Sunday were the Valiant Lady, Norwegian Breakaway and two Carnival ships, the Carnival Horizon and the Carnival Magic.
This latest arrest brings the total number of crew members arrested to thirteen! So far, crew members from five companies have been arrested on child pornography charges: Carnival – 4; Royal Caribbean – 3; Disney – 3; Celebrity – 1; and Holland America Line – 1.
The last four crew members arrested were all employed by Carnival Cruise Line. Two of the four Carnival crew members, who were arrested two weeks ago, Iputuagus Karnawan, a/k/a Putu Karnawan (age 28)(from Indonesia), reportedly worked in the galley as a cook on the Carnival Conquest. Imadewisma Dana (also age 28 and from Indonesia), also reportedly worked a cook on the Carnival Conquest.
Imadewisma Dana (left), Iputuagus Karnawan (upper right), Carnival Conquest.
The other two Carnival crew members, who were arrested last week on charges of possessing child pornography, Igedeboy Mardika (photo below right), a 28-year-old Indonesian national, and Sreerag Vazhayil (photo below left) , a 32-year-old Indian national, were also accused of possessing bestiality videos on the Carnival Cruise Line ship where they worked (either the Carnival Horizon or Carnival Celebration).
Vazhayil possessed a “video of a man having sex with a horse;” Mardika “had three videos of women having sex with a horse, a dog and a pig,” according to Miami-Dade Police. These bestiality allegations against Carnival crew member Mardika are exactly the same as the charges against crew member Ferry Maryanto who was arrested two days ago. The question naturally arises – did these two crew members work on the same ship? Did they exchange or trade the same illegal images?
Where Did This Latest Crew Members Work?
Many times. the arrest records don’t identify the name of the cruise line employer or the cruise ship where the crew member lived and worked. Many tens of thousands of crew members read this blog and several ship employees have identified the cruise lines which hired and employed some of the crew members who have been arrested in the past on child pornography charges. (We of course protect their anonymity). We will be asking for assistance once again in learning the identity of the cruise line involved in tis latest crime.
Crackdown On Child Pornography By U.S. and Florida Law Enforcement in South Florida
Considering the high number of crew members who have been arrested on cruise ships in South Florida in the last five months, there appears to be an effort by both state and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute people who possess and transport child pornography (and bestiality videos) on cruise ships. It is likely that once law enforcement seizes a crew member’s iPhone and/or computer, they obtain evidence such as social media sites and internet transmissions which share child pornography and/or bestiality images implicating a wide number of ship employees. Some of these crew members work on the same cruise ship and may trade and/or exchange images.
It also seems clear to me that federal and state law enforcement authorities are working with agencies which use state-of-the-art surveillance software where experts monitor child pornography and file-sharing sites to develop a massive international database to catch those who possess and share child abuse images. Read: Inside the Surveillance Software Tracking Child Porn Offenders Across the Globe
Are Cruise Employers Doing Anything to Address the Illegal Conduct?
There remains the fundamental issue whether cruise employers are taking any steps to prohibit child pornography on their ships.
First of all, it is clear in reviewing the arrest reports and/or probable cause affidavits that the cruise lines do not monitor the computers or cell phone of their ship employees. We have never read, for example, that a cruise line has ever informed law enforcement that a ship employee has been caught with child pornography.
I have asked crew members to explain whether the cruise lines have rules and regulations (in a company handbook or in the “Master’s Rules”) regarding the issue of child pornography (i.e., it is against the cruise line’s policies and will lead to termination, plus an explanation why it’s illegal, why it’s unlawful, and the serious risks which ship employees face (arrest, criminal prosecution and fines, potential jail sentences and being classified as a sexual criminal).
So far, two crew members have explained the policy of Disney Cruise Line. One Disney crew member told me the following:
“In response to your question, since the arrests Disney has done town hall meeting (mandatory crew assembly) where top management from shore side have talked about the arrests and have gone over that it is illegal and that they will report to all levels of law enforcement if they catch any illegal activity on the DCL internet, they also talked about how other activities (ie. sexual harassment on anyone not just minors) and threats and assaults will all be handed over to law enforcement). All crew who come back for another contract will hear the same message each sign on and in HR training in the first week it is talked about how it is automatic termination if caught going anywhere by yourself (with a minor you must always have 2 crew members). During training and once a year crew members get a class on avoiding sexual harassment and abuse which goes over disciplinary actions. “
I get the impression that Carnival and Royal Caribbean, on the other hand, don’t devote any time, effort or energy in educating and training its crew members regarding this serious problem. So far, no employees of Carnival or Royal Caribbean have offered any explanation whether they receive training or instruction, notwithstanding the fact that numerous ship employees from both companies have been arrested for possessing child abuse images of very young children.
Where Will This End?
Will cruise lines (other than Disney) take this problem seriously and train their crew members?
My bet is that child protection agencies know the identity of additional crew members on cruise ships calling on South Florida who have downloaded or purchased illegal images. These agencies are probably coordinating with law enforcement to apprehend them when the ships where they work return to U.S. ports.
Stay tuned.
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Interested in this issue? Read: Cruise Ship Employee Arrested at PortMiami on Multiple Counts Involving Child Porngraphy
Image credit: Ferry Maryanto – Mugshot Zone and Local10 News.