MIAMI, FL— November 24, 2011 – FBI agents on Nov. 19 arrested and charged a 35-year-old Carnival Cruise Lines crew member upon receiving a report alleging the employee engaged in illicit sexual conduct with an underage cruise ship passenger. According to information provided by the Miami Herald, the unidentified 14-year-old victim waited until she returned home to tell her family about the incident.
Reports suggested Carnival Liberty cruise ship waiter Kert Clyde Jordan is accused of persuading the young girl to follow him to a bathroom on the vessel’s Lido deck and then proceeding to have unlawful sex with her. The alleged sexual encounters occurred on Nov. 4 and 5, as the Liberty cruise ship was seemingly navigating international waters.
Federal officials took the Carnival cruise waiter into custody in Florida on Nov. 19. He was charged with engaging in a sexual act with a person under the age of 16 shortly after the child sex victim identified him to the FBI. On Nov. 22, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that Jordan, whom is originally from Grenada, was still under federal lockup in connection with the cruise ship sex crime. The case is underway.
According to a statement released by Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines, “Carnival has a zero tolerance policy for crime and we take any allegations of crime extremely seriously. We continue to provide our full cooperation and support to federal law enforcement authorities. Our Care Team has reached out to offer support and express our utmost concern for our guest and her family during this difficult time.”
According to statistics posted on the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) website, the FBI regarded sexual assault as the leading crime reported on cruise ships, accounting for 55 percent of all maritime crimes reported to the bureau.
About the Miami Cruise Ship Accident Lawyers and Maritime Attorneys at Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.
Leading Florida crime victim lawyers Gerson & Schwartz state that ship firms have managed to avoid potential litigation through unethical business practices for years. Such practices can leave victims of molestation and/or sexual assault struggling to attain compensation for their pain and suffering. For more than 30 years, the Miami cruise ship injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. have been dedicated to protecting the rights of travelers and cruise ship employees who have been sexually assaulted, sustained serious injury or been subject to preventable harm while aboard these “hospitable” vessels.