Federal officials remove 87 cruise ship crew members over alleged child sex abuse materials
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it has removed 87 cruise ship crew members from vessels visiting Boston and Maine ports who were accused of possessing child sexual abuse materials.
Dubbed "Operation Tidal Wave," the sweep began in August. According to the Customs and Border Patrol website, investigators searched the living quarters and electronic devices of crew members on the Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Jewel and reportedly found child sexual abuse materials.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston said on Monday, Filipino national Bobby Prieto, 35, of the Norwegian Jewel was arrested and charged with one count of transportation of child pornography.
The Jewel arrived in Bar Harbor the following day.
The Breakaway visited Portland in August and September and is expected again next month.
According to federal authorities, the 87 charged face deportation or prosecution.
FBI suspects ex-California firefighter staged death to avoid child sex abuse charges
The FBI suspects a former California firefighter staged his own death to avoid facing federal child sexual abuse material charges.
Charles Jonathan Harris, a former firefighter with the Alameda County Fire Department, was indicted in March 2023 on a federal charge of possessing child sexual abuse material. Weeks later, Harris and his brother went fishing in Suisun Bay, where their boat capsized, and Harris was reported missing. His body was never recovered.
“Law enforcement officials believe the circumstances warrant further scrutiny, including the possibility that his death was staged,” the FBI said on Harris’s “Most Wanted” page.
The circumstances surrounding Harris’s disappearance raised questions among investigators in 2023. Authorities located the boat but found that it was missing a boat plug, prompting federal prosecutors to tell a judge that there were unanswered questions about what happened.
“It’s missing a boat plug,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Volkar told U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam during an April 2023 hearing.
“I say all that, your honor, just to say that there are a lot of questions,” Volkar added, saying local authorities were working to “find Mr. Harris or his body.”
Harris’s brother said the two men had been fishing on April 4, 2023, in a 15-foot boat when it capsized at about 11 p.m. Harris’s next court appearance was scheduled for April 19.
The Coast Guard searched the area for two days after Harris’s disappearance, but he was never found.
Harris’s attorney, Stephen Prekoski, disputed the suggestion that his client had survived the accident. He told the judge that Harris’s brother reported Harris had “succumbed” after about an hour in the water.
Prekowski also urged the judge not to issue a warrant for Harris and said he believed his client had died.
“As far as I’m concerned, he died innocent,” Prekoski said in a subsequent phone interview, reiterating Harris’s not guilty plea.
Harris had surrendered to federal authorities the month before his disappearance and was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond. He was ordered to stay off the internet while awaiting further proceedings. If convicted, he would have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Tooele firefighter arrested in Utah County child sex abuse material investigation
PROVO, Utah (KUTV) — A North Tooele Fire District firefighter was taken into custody following an investigation into multiple child sex abuse material cybertips.
Jay Ronin Hill, 26, of Pleasant Grove, was booked into the Utah County Jail on one count of second-degree felony sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to court documents, the Lehi Police Department reviewed multiple cybertips linked not only to each other but to the same suspect, later identified as Hill.
Investigators met with Hill at the Tooele fire station where he worked, who allegedly admitted that his Google account had been shut down due to child sex abuse material.
Hill allegedly told investigators he had a problem with pornography and that his addiction was getting worse.
According to investigators, Hill admitted to posing as an underaged female in online chat groups to hear what people would do his persona and using AI in attempts to create child sex abuse material. He also allegedly spoke with someone online who offered to share illicit files with him.
Hill was then taken into custody without incident and booked on the aforementioned charge.
The North Tooele Fire Department said it was aware of the arrest and had placed Hill on administrative leave without pay. The fire department confirmed Hill was later fired from his position.
"The NTFD is cooperating with the investigation," a spokesperson said in a statement. "The individual's alleged conduct does not represent the values or standards of our community or our department."
