A former cruise ship staffer has been handed a lengthy prison term after being found guilty of hiding cameras in guest bathrooms, including cabins used by families with children.
Arvin Joseph Mirasol, 36, worked as a stateroom attendant aboard Royal Caribbean Group’s Symphony of the Seas. He has now been sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with the case.
In 2024, Mirasol pleaded not guilty to allegations that he installed covert recording devices in order to create child sexual abuse material. The reported ages of the victims ranged from two to 17, according to NBC6.
He is scheduled to appear in court in Broward on June 15 following a change of plea after local charges were filed. He is currently facing nine counts of digital voyeurism.
The investigation began in February 2024, when a guest reportedly discovered a camera positioned beneath a stateroom bathroom sink.
After Mirasol was taken into custody, prosecutors say investigators located what the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida described as “numerous videos of children in various stages of undress.”
Officials also alleged that one of the videos recovered showed Mirasol himself setting up a camera inside a guest bathroom.
Authorities say the conduct went beyond hidden devices. Investigators claim he sometimes concealed himself under guests’ beds while they showered, allegedly recording people as they stepped out of the bathroom and during other private moments.
Mirasol, who is originally from the Philippines, was accused of placing cameras as early as December 2023. He received his sentence in August 2024.
In October 2024, a mother and her two young daughters filed a class action lawsuit in Miami federal court against Royal Caribbean and Mirasol.
The complaint states that passengers have been left distressed and uncertain about what may have happened to the recordings and whether any content was shared.
“The fact that many of the victims we represent still do not know if and how their images have been used or circulated is incredibly disturbing. Some of the plaintiffs are children – and once an image is on the internet it is there forever,” the plaintiffs’ attorney Spencer Aronfeld said in a release.
“We hope that RCCL will take full responsibility for the heinous and reprehensible conduct of its crewmember. And we hope that this lawsuit will motivate RCCL and the other major cruise lines to spend more effort screening their crewmembers so that this type of assault never happens again.”
Royal Caribbean also released a statement at the time. “We have zero tolerance for this unacceptable behavior. We immediately reported this to law enforcement and terminated the crew member, and we continue to fully cooperate with authorities.”