Disney Cover Up Exposed: 11-year-old girl molested on Disney Dream

[Rumors Rocks]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/disney-...ise_Line_doesn_t_report_incident_promptly.htm

Video - News Coverage: http://www.clickorlando.com/news/di...ort/-/1637132/20227248/-/1hsdp6z/-/index.html

WKMG-6 of Orlando broke the story of a 33-year-old Disney Cruise Line (DCL) member allegedly molesting an 11-year-old girl back in August while on board the Disney Dream. According to the story, the incident happened on August 5 in an elevator before the ship had even pulled away from Port Canaveral; the cruise line reportedly did not reveal the incident until the next day. Last week, DCL said the crime was reported to the police right away, but changed the story after speaking with WKMG and Port Canaveral authorities. The cruise line said other employees did not know about the incident until the next day; on August 5, they claim to only have known that a child was "made to feel uncomfortable." The investigation by Local 6 states that they have seen a confidential DCL security incident report, which appears to make DCL's statements false.

In the report, security began investigating the molestation (called an "inappropriate sexual act" in the report) on August 5 at 3:22 pm. The girl's report to security officers was that "the man had repeatedly grabbed her breast through her clothes and forcibly kissed her on the mouth as he corned her in an elevator on the Disney Dream."

Joseph Hellebrand, Port Canaveral police chief, said that if his department had known about the attack, "We would have sent an officer aboard the ship, we would have notified the detective, we would have interviewed the family, the victim, the suspect and if warranted, arrested the dining room server." The police have the right to go aboard any ship to investigate if the crime happens within 1,000 feet of its shoreline. Disney Cruise Line claims to have taken proper action in dealing with the incident.

Security footage from onboard the ship shows the girl and her grandmother heading to file a report at Guest Services only eight minutes after the incident; security investigation began at 3:22 pm. At 3:57 pm, he girl took the security officer to the elevator to show her where the cast member encountered her. The officer made note of the girl being uncomfortable as they were in the location. After reviewing the footage, the security officer confirmed that the girl's story was correct. The video was shown at 4:48 pm to a dining manager, who identified the crew member as Milton Braganza of India. The ship pulled out of port at 5:02 pm. Braganza was not pulled aside until 7:50 pm. He was then removed from duty and questioned again on August 6 and August 7 in Nassau, where the Bahamian police took over the investigation. He admitted to the police, "I touched her on her right breast with my left hand."

Ultimately, the grandmother decided to not pursue charges and wanted the investigation stopped. Chief Hellebrand said if the Florida police had known about the crime, charges would have been filed, even against the grandmother's wishes. The act is considered a lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12 and is a felony. If convicted, the crime would warrant 25 years to life in prison.

Click link(s) for more details.

 

[Spacedog1975]

I'm not clear on where this becomes a cover up.

 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

I'm not clear on where this becomes a cover up.

I'm guessing that's in reference to the crime not being reported to Florida police although the crime occurred while the ship was still docked.

Also, although it's not clear, it sounds like DCL may have dropped their investigation at the grandmother's request? Does anyone have any more info on that aspect? Was the investigation dropped? Was the server removed from duty permanently?

 

[Spacedog1975]

My read is that the reason things didn't go further was that the family requested it be dropped. Their privacy is paramount IMHO.

As with many things, it's impossible for me to cast judgement or to assign blame as I was not there and I do not have all the facts. I try not to jump to conclusions that I cannot logically make with the facts available.

To suggest that Disney would cover something like this up is quite a severe accusation to make without available facts to support it.

 

[arthropodtodd]

Ugh, it is always better to follow through on cases like this for the minor victim. Research shows kids do better when the incident does not get swept under the rug. Besides this guy goes free and will get not treatment for an pretty clear problem he has.

 

[Spacedog1975]

Ugh, it is always better to follow through on cases like this for the minor victim. Research shows kids do better when the incident does not get swept under the rug. Besides this guy goes free and will get not treatment for an pretty clear problem he has.

I don't disagree with this. That is the grandmother's authority though.

 

[wiigirl]

Woah!

 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

I don't disagree with this. That is the grandmother's authority though.

Actually, it's not up to the grandmother.

When a crime has taken place within 1000 feet of the Florida coast, it is under the jurisdiction of Florida Law Enforcement. Had the police been called as they should have been, charges would have been filed.

Victims - or guardians of victims as in this case - do not have the authority to dismiss a charge/case when a crime has been committed.

 

[Breyean]

Besides this guy goes free and will get not treatment for an pretty clear problem he has.

Or, punishment for a criminal act he committed.

 

[mm1971]

I don't really see them covering it up. The bigger question is how to better police any incident that happens on cruise ships. It is possible that Nassau is where the ship is registered and that is why it was handled there. Just a guess. I can't really comment on what they "should" have done.

I do agree that by dropping the charge when the person admitted to it does not help anyone and just allows a criminal to continue being a criminal. I do understand and have compassion for the family not wanting to be in the news 24/7 as well. As soon as it was reported to be a DCL, everyone would have jumped to cover the story. A tough situation either way for the family.

 

[arthropodtodd]

Victims - or guardians of victims as in this case - do not have the authority to dismiss a charge/case when a crime has been committed.

In theory yes. However, if the victim is unwilling the testify and there is not hard evidence (DNA or footage of the offense) it can be a hard case to win. I have had more than one client who had gotten in trouble before, but no charges were filed due to the victim's unwillingness to testify or pursue the offense.

They might have filed charges, but whether it went beyond that??? Doubtful.

As I stated before (on the other Disney abuse threads recently) only around 5% of all sexual offenses lead to conviction, and only 50% are ever reported.

 

[arthropodtodd]

A tough situation either way for the family.

I get that. but I know that when families begin to have "secrets" and things they do not talk about, it really messes with the victim, including feeling like they were to blame or the thought that the behavior was no big deal then, so it is no big deal later in life. There is an empowerment that happens when someone confronts the abuse, even in children.

This is a sad story because this guy can just hook up with another ship or wherever because no charges were filed. It becomes a he said, she said event. Of course, just playing devil's advocate, who knows if this actually happened. Could be another sad attempt to scam money from Disney as I am sure Disney will develop some form of settlement to prevent lawsuits.

 

[arthropodtodd]

Mind you I know he admitted later, but I am talking about offenses similar to this one in general.

 

[Lewisc]

who knows if this actually happened. Could be another sad attempt to scam money from Disney as I am sure Disney will develop some form of settlement to prevent lawsuits.

From the OP

After reviewing the footage, the security officer confirmed that the girl's story was correct.

Disney confirmed the girls story, and identified the name of the crew member, before the ship left port. It took 3 hours before the crew member was relieved of duty.

 

[Spacedog1975]

From the OP

After reviewing the footage, the security officer confirmed that the girl's story was correct.

Disney confirmed the girls story, and identified the name of the crew member, before the ship left port. It took 3 hours before the crew member was relieved of duty.

3 Hours is really not a long time all things considered. I'm sure he was done promptly when they realized what's up, but Disney needs to properly dismiss any employee. Dotting the i's and crossing the t's as it were. I highly doubt that he spent those 3 hours interacting with any customers.

 

[Lewisc]

3 Hours is really not a long time all things considered. I'm sure he was done promptly when they realized what's up, but Disney needs to properly dismiss any employee. Dotting the i's and crossing the t's as it were. I highly doubt that he spent those 3 hours interacting with any customers.

The article in the OP says he was on duty for the 3 hours
The article is clear. You keep missing points in the OP. I'm not sure if you skimmed the article and missed most of it or if you think the entire thing was made up

 

[alice99]

I don't disagree with this. That is the grandmother's authority though.

Actually, it's not up to the grandmother.

When a crime has taken place within 1000 feet of the Florida coast, it is under the jurisdiction of Florida Law Enforcement. Had the police been called as they should have been, charges would have been filed.

Victims - or guardians of victims as in this case - do not have the authority to dismiss a charge/case when a crime has been committed.

When a child is victimized NOBODY has the right to decline prosecution, it is the Police's duty and responsibility to make an arrest, regardless of whether or not the grandmother wants to persue charges.
Victims have every right to decline to prosecute .... but the arrest must be made.

1.The point is Disney knew about the assault before even leaving port , yet let the cruise leave port without properly reporting the crime to authorities.
2.They let this guy continue to roam free on the cruise ship for 3 hours, before even questioning him.
3.They report the crime in the Bahamas, which is NOT even the proper jurisdiction, so they can't make an arrest, they have no authority. How convenient! This was not accidental, Disney knows what they are supposed to do, and didn't do it.

They were hoping it would go away.

I believe everything in this article indicates cover-up.

 

[alice99]

I don't really see them covering it up. The bigger question is how to better police any incident that happens on cruise ships. It is possible that Nassau is where the ship is registered and that is why it was handled there. Just a guess. I can't really comment on what they "should" have done.

I do agree that by dropping the charge when the person admitted to it does not help anyone and just allows a criminal to continue being a criminal. I do understand and have compassion for the family not wanting to be in the news 24/7 as well. As soon as it was reported to be a DCL, everyone would have jumped to cover the story. A tough situation either way for the family.

Crimes get reported to the jurisdiction in which it happened, that article clearly states the ship was docked at Port Canaveral. There is NO reason for it to be reported in Bahamas. If I get assaulted on a street in NYC, in a car with Texas plates... does that mean the jurisdiction is Texas?? I'd think not.

I love your line "As soon as it was reported to be a DCL, everyone would have jumped to cover the story" Yeah, and SO WHAT??!! An 11 year old girl was molested. What?! Are you kidding me? Disney must maintain a perfect reputation at all costs??

Disney ruins its reputation by trying to squash incidents like these.

 

[pigletto]

Ultimately, the grandmother decided to not pursue charges and wanted the investigation stopped.

Ok honestly THIS disturbs me more than anything else. Why in the world would you choose to stop the investigation on a man who ADMITS he molested your granddaughter? The only single reason I could see for that would be a sizeable pay off. That makes me pretty darn suspicious.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

Crimes get reported to the jurisdiction in which it happened, that article clearly states the ship was docked at Port Canaveral. There is NO reason for it to be reported in Bahamas. If I get assaulted on a street in NYC, in a car with Texas plates... does that mean the jurisdiction is Texas?? I'd think not.

I love your line "As soon as it was reported to be a DCL, everyone would have jumped to cover the story" Yeah, and SO WHAT??!! An 11 year old girl was molested. What?! Are you kidding me? Disney must maintain a perfect reputation at all costs??

Disney ruins its reputation by trying to squash incidents like these.

Plus 1.

What a "magical" experience this was. Will Disney use this in their advertising? But what about the apologists? Is anything more sacred than maintaining the sanctity of Disney???