7 Filipino cruise ship workers arrested on child porn charges

Officials of the Philippine Embassy’s Migrant Workers Office (MWO) hold a meeting with representatives of various Philippine manning agencies deploying seafarers to cruise ships. CONTRIBUTED

WASHINGTON – The Migrant Workers Office (MWO) of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC, is working with agencies deploying Filipino seafarers to cruise ships to address the use of child pornography among cruise ship workers.

At least seven Filipino cruise ship workers have been arrested and detained in Florida for possession and transportation of child pornography within the past six months, the MWO reported.

MWO officials met with representatives of various Philippine manning agencies on May 15 to discuss this urgent issue and how to strengthen the campaign to combat online child sexual exploitation.

“The Philippines is a strong advocate against online sexual exploitation of children. Our seafarers must be informed about the perils of child pornography, which is considered one of the worst forms of child exploitation and to consume it perpetuates such exploitation,” said Labor Attaché Saul De Vries.

“US federal and state laws criminalize the production or promotion of child pornography. Individuals caught possessing, viewing, transporting and distributing child pornography will be prosecuted and penalized.”

He urged the manning agencies to advise the seafarers to desist from downloading, possessing, viewing, transporting, distributing and selling child pornography, as well as subscribing to child pornography sites.

Labor Attache Saul De Vries (top right) discusses a collaborative plan of action to address the use of child pornography among seafarers. CONTRIBUTED

“The world highly values and appreciates our seafarers. They remain to be the most-sought ship crew in the world because of their work dedication, excellent skills and dependability,” De Vries added. “We do not want the careers they worked hard to build and the sacrifices they endured for their families to go to waste because of an infraction with the law. Those involved in cases are just a few and certainly do not represent the character of the Filipino mariner.”

The manning agencies agreed to strengthen their pre-departure orientation seminar (PDOS) for seafarers by incorporating modules on issues of child pornography and related topics.

Tirso Neri. Image: Broward Sheriff’s Office

The MWO did not provide the names of the seven arrested cruise ship workers, but law enforcement agencies have announced the arrests of Disney Cruise Line workers Tirso Neri, Amiel Joseph Trazo and Alvin Gonzales in Florida for alleged possession of child abuse material.

Neri, a 44-year-old crew member working for the Disney Dream, was arrested last month by the US Marshals Service and detained at the Broward County jail, according to NBC6 South Florida.

His arrest followed an investigation that started in December 2023, which found he was in possession of child pornography on two mobile phones, according to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court.

Photos and videos of child sexual abuse, some with 9-year-old girls, and at least one with a boy between 10 and 12-year-old, was found on Neri’s two phones.

Trazo, also a Disney Dream cruise employee, was arrested in January following a border check that alleged child pornography material was discovered, the Miami Herald reported.

Gonzalez, 49, was nabbed in February after the Homeland Security Investigations Task Force found child pornography on his mobile devices, NBC6 South Florida reported. The Task Force said they received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Also attending the meeting with MWO were officials of the Department of Migrant Workers, led by Director Augusto San Diego III of the Sea-Based Accreditation Bureau. Manning agencies represented in the meeting included Magsaysay People Resources Corporation, CF Sharp Crew Management, Inc., Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc., TDG Crew Management, Inc., United Philippine Lines, Inc., RCCL Crew Management Inc., OSM Shipping Phils., OSM Thome and YWCA Founder’s Federation of the Philippines, Inc.