The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

UNITED States officials are reportedly “up in arms” that a Disney Cruise Line employee, accused of molesting an 11-year-old passenger, was left unscathed when authorities in the Bahamas released him following questioning.

The child, with other relatives, according to several international news agencies, was on board the Disney Dream where the girl claimed that the 33-year-old Indian employee groped her and then forced her to kiss him mouth to mouth. 

Bahamian authorities, because the ship is registered under the Bahamian flag, were responsible for interrogating the dining room server after the child’s grandmother reported the incident to the ship’s security. The molestation occurred when the ship was docked 1,000 feet from shore at Port Canaveral, Florida.

The incident, which occurred more than nine months ago on August 6, 2012, was captured by security cameras, according to the New York Daily News.

The matter was turned over to local authorities on August 7 because Carnival did no make an immediate report to Florida officials. Those officials were informed of what took place on the ship on the same day.

However, questions have been raised as to why Carnival was slow to act as video and a Disney security incident report obtained by WKMG in Orlando revealed that the girl and her grandmother reported it minutes after the attack happened.

Security was then called at 3:22 p.m.  Later, at 3:57 pm, the girl showed the officer where the man attacked her. The officer reviewed the video of the elevator lobby and showed it to a dining room manager at 4:48 p.m., and a suspect was identified.

Had the matter been reported to the US authorities immediately, the accused could have faced a felony charge, which carries a sentencing of 25 years to life in prison.

Although some time has passed, there is now a fresh call for the matter to be reviewed as Carnival faces heavy criticism over how it was handled.

When asked if Bahamian authorities handled the incident properly, National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage said the details of the incident in several news articles, including the Daily Mail Online, were not accurate. The Tribune was instructed to contacted Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade. However, attempts to reach him were not successful.