Two Carnival Cruise Crew Members Arrested for Child Pornography: Fifteen Cruise Ship Employees Arrested in the Last Six Months

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security arrested two Carnival Cruise Line crew members while they were in New Orleans two weeks ago. According to a New Orleans newspaper, the Department of Homeland Security arrested Indian national Abdhul Rouvoof Shaik and Indonesian national Reza Heta Pratama for possession and transportation of child pornography after they disembarked from two different Carnival Cruise Line ships. Carnival Freedom (top right) and Carnival Valor ((top left) on July 14 in New Orleans.

The arrests were first reported in the Times Picayune, then in USA TODAY. Neither publication provided information that would put the story in the context of the larger problem of child pornography in the cruise industry.

Unlike other cases, I have not found any arrest photos and/or mug shots of these Carnival crew members.

These arrests bring the total number of cruise ship crew members arrested for child pornography to an unprecedented fifteen (15) cruise ship employees in the first six (6) months of this year alone.

So far, crew members from five companies have been arrested for child pornography: Carnival – 6 (or 7); Royal Caribbean – 3; Disney – 3; Celebrity – 1; and Holland America Line – 1. The employer of one crew member, Ferry Maryanto, who was arrested last month, has not been identified. He may have been employed by Carnival Cruise Line, either on the Carnival horizon or the Carnival magicHe was arrested in the port of Miami on a day when two Carnival cruise ships, a Virgin Voyages ship and a Norwegian Cruise Line ship were in port.

The last six or seven crew members arrested for child pornography were all employed by Carnival Cruise Line. Two of four Carnival crew members arrested in early June at the Port of Miami worked on the Carnival conquest. Iputuagus Karnawan, a/k/a Putu Karnawan (28 years old) (from Indonesia), reportedly worked in the galley as a cook on the Carnival conquestImadewisma Dana (also 28 years old and from Indonesia) reportedly also worked as a cook on the Carnival conquest.

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 arrested for child pornography and also accused of having sex on the Carnival Cruise Line ship they were working on (either the Carnival horizon or Carnival celebration).

Law enforcement agencies in the US and Florida are taking aggressive action against child pornography in South Florida

Given the high number of crew members arrested on cruise ships in South Florida over the past six months, both state and federal law enforcement agencies appear committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals 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 will obtain evidence such as social media sites and Internet transmissions sharing child pornography and/or bestiality images that incriminate a large number of ship personnel. Some of these crew members appear to be trading images with other ship personnel.

The arrest affidavit in the pending criminal case No. 2:24-mj-00105-DM, filed in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, states that crew member Shaik was a member of a group of men in a WhatsApp group who shared images of “children having sex.” He chatted with his friend from Indonesia and sent and received “porn videos” featuring children. The Indonesian friend was referred to as a “co-conspirator” in the arrest affidavit. Shaik waived his Miranda Protection from self-incrimination and admitted to the arresting special investigator that he was aware that the video featured children and that child pornography was illegal.

Carnival reportedly fired Pratama from his job and dismissed him from the ship after co-workers accused him of sexual harassment, according to an affidavit from a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations. Pratama also reportedly refused to Miranda Rights and admitted to having received the child pornography from a Telegram group.

It seems clear to me that federal and state law enforcement are working with agencies that use cutting-edge surveillance software that experts use to monitor child pornography and file-sharing sites to build a massive international database that can be used to catch those who possess and share child abuse images. Read: Inside the Surveillance Software That Tracks Child Porn Offenders Around the World

The arrest of up to a dozen crew members for child pornography by law enforcement in one port is unprecedented. Prior to this year, only ports outside the United States, such as Canada, had arrested more than a few cruise ship employees for child pornography in a year. See, for example, “Caught at Pier 21 – Another Crew Member Arrested for Child Pornography in Halifax,” “Musician from Cruise Ship HAL Arrested for Child Pornography,” “Is Child Pornography Widespread on Cruise Ships?”, “Another Cruise Ship Employee Arrested for Child Pornography – This Time HAL Veendam,” “Another Carnival Crew Member Arrested for Child Pornography,” and “Costa Crew Member Arrested for Child Pornography.”

There is no doubt that there has been a change in law enforcement policy and cruise ships are now increasingly being scrutinized as sources of child pornography.

For more information on the problem of pornography on cruise ships, see: Child pornography epidemic on cruise ships continues, two more crew members arrested.

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Photo credit: Carnival Bravery – Mason Piscitelli – CC BY-SA 4.0 commons / wikimedia; Carnival Freedom – Yankeesman312 CC BY-SA 4.0 commons / wikimedia; Stop Abuse graphic – Stop the campaign against child abuse.