A cruise ship passenger has been arrested after a hidden camera was discovered in one of the vessel’s public washrooms, police have confirmed.
Jeremy Froias was arrested last Wednesday in Puerto Rico and charged with video voyeurism and attempted possession of child exploitation material, according to court documents.
Now, the FBI’s San Juan Division is working to identify potential victims, as the footage retrieved from the camera contains video of dozens of people, including children.
According to a criminal complaint filed in San Juan federal court, Froias boarded Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas cruise ship in Miami on April 29 for a seven-day cruise. The ship was set to make land calls at Sint Maarten, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas before returning to Miami this past Saturday.
An FBI affidavit alleges that one day after the boat set sail, when it had reached international waters, Froias allegedly hid the Wi-Fi enabled camera in a public washroom near the boat’s top deck bar.
The camera was in place for one day before it was spotted by a passenger, who alerted Royal Caribbean staff.
“At about 7:00 p.m. on May 1, 2023, another passenger noticed the hidden camera and reported it to The Harmony’s crew. Harmony security personnel searched the bathroom and found and seized the hidden camera,” an FBI special agent said in the complaint.
Royal Caribbean security noticed a memory card in the camera and reviewed the data, finding “several hours worth of .mp4 video files,” the agent said.
Footage included Froias hiding the camera and aiming it toward the toilet. More than 150 people, including at least 40 children, appeared in the videos, the affidavit reads. Some were at least partially naked.
The affidavit also says when the ship’s security interviewed Froias about the camera he “admitted to placing the hidden camera in the bathroom” and told security personnel that he knew the camera had been found and taken because he couldn’t find it when he went to check on it on May 1.
Royal Caribbean said in a statement to CNN that it was aware of the incident.
“The matter was immediately reported to local and federal law enforcement and the guest involved was removed from the ship by authorities for further investigation. As this is an active case, we are unable to share any more details at this time,” the cruise line said.
— with a file from The Associated Press
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