In a recent incident involving a male crew of Celebrity Cruises, Dennis Ofrancia De Leon (aged 44, Filipino) was apprehended on Monday, April 29th, on allegations related to child pornography.
According to an affidavit signed by Homeland Security Investigations special agent Katherine E. Leonard, explicit materials depicting minors were discovered on De Leon’s cell phone during an investigation at Florida’s Port Everglades, where the Celebrity Reflection ship had docked.
During questioning, De Leon disclosed that he had been receiving illicit material via Facebook Messenger for about four years and admitted to regularly viewing such content approximately once per month. He acknowledged that the material often involved children under the age of 10 engaged in sexual acts with adults. De Leon stated that he typically deleted the illicit content from his phone before international travel, but failed to do so during this particular instance.
De Leon admitted to possessing several videos of child pornography on his phone at the time of the interview. Consequently, he faces charges of transportation and possession of child pornography.
Responding to the incident, a Celebrity spokesperson promptly announced the termination of De Leon's employment, emphasizing that the cybercrime in question did not involve any guests or other crew members.
This development follows a series of similar incidents involving crew members of various cruise lines, including DCL-Disney Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises, indicating ongoing concerns regarding the safeguarding of minors aboard these vessels.
For more Celebrity Reflection incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.