MANILA, Philippines — A federal court in the United States has sentenced a Filipino cruise ship employee to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography videos.
Arvin Joseph Mirasol, 34, was sentenced by US District Court Judge Melissa Damian at the Southern District of Florida in Miami on Aug. 28, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement.
Mirasol was arrested earlier this year after a guest of the Symphony of the Seas cruise ship discovered a hidden camera under the bathroom sink on Feb. 25.
He was detained by the cruise ship’s security until it docked at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 3, after personnel of the US Homeland Security Investigation and Customs and Border Protection boarded the ship to conduct a probe.
Electronics confiscated from Mirasol revealed “numerous videos of children in various stages of undress,” the United States DOJ said.
One video showed Mirasol installing a camera in a guest’s bathroom.
Investigators discovered that the videos included children aged two to 17.
“According to the agreed upon factual proffer, Mirasol had been placing cameras in passenger cabins since December 2023. He would enter the guests’ rooms while they were showering and hide under the bed so that he could secretly record them exiting the shower,” the US DOJ statement read.
In an earlier court filing, Mirasol admitted knowing that it is illegal to record underage girls.
He told law enforcers, “I want to control it, but I can’t.”