A Disney Cruise Line worker, Tirso Neri, was arrested on child pornography charges, making him the third crew member this year to face such allegations. Neri, a 44-year-old crew member from the Philippines, was working on the Disney Dream ship when he was arrested by U.S. Border Control and Homeland Security agents. The agents discovered sexually explicit images and videos of children as young as 9 years old on Neri’s phone during a search of his cabin. The investigation into Neri began on Dec. 18 when the Disney Dream ship arrived at the Port Everglades port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from the Bahamas.
Agents confiscated two phones from Neri, which contained numerous sexually explicit photographs and videos of young children. It was later discovered that Neri had a folder on one of the devices with explicit photos and videos of a 17-year-old girl, along with her Philippines passport that confirmed her age. Neri claimed that he downloaded adult pornography and purchased links containing explicit content from group chats on Telegram and Facebook Messenger. He stated that he received the folder of explicit images and videos from one of the group chats and saved it to his phone without knowing the content. However, a forensic review of his phone revealed that the images were saved and viewed by the user.
Additional videos found on Neri’s phone allegedly depicted a boy aged 10 to 12 engaging in sex with a girl aged 12 to 14, as well as a young naked girl with a man, with the text “9 years old delicious” written across the screen in Filipino. Neri was charged with possession of child pornography and transportation of child pornography, and he is currently being held at Broward Main Jail. Disney Cruise Line confirmed that Neri was no longer employed by the company and emphasized their zero-tolerance policy towards such behavior. This incident follows the arrests of two other Disney Cruise Line employees, Alvin Gonzales and Amiel Trazo, also from the Philippines, who were charged in January with felony possession of child pornography.
The case of Tirso Neri highlights an alarming trend of child pornography allegations within the Disney Cruise Line company, with three crew members facing charges within the same year. The discovery of sexually explicit images and videos of children on Neri’s phone during a search of his cabin led to his arrest by U.S. Border Control and Homeland Security agents. Neri claimed that he downloaded adult pornography and purchased explicit content from group chats on messaging platforms such as Telegram and Facebook Messenger. However, a forensic review of his phone revealed that the images were saved and viewed by the user, contradicting his initial statement.
The explicit videos found on Neri’s phone included disturbing content involving minors engaging in sexual activities, further implicating him in child pornography charges. He was charged with possession and transportation of child pornography and is currently being held at Broward Main Jail. Disney Cruise Line confirmed that Neri was no longer employed by the company, citing their zero-tolerance policy towards such behavior. The arrest of Neri follows similar incidents involving two other Filipino crew members, Alvin Gonzales and Amiel Trazo, who were arrested in January on charges of felony possession of child pornography. These cases highlight the importance of vigilance in identifying and addressing such reprehensible behavior to ensure the safety and well-being of children onboard cruise ships.
