The parents of a 4-year-old little girl discovered that she was sexually assaulted at Camp Carnival, while her parents were enjoying adult activities aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines', Carnival Legend on Friday, July 16, 2010.
The incident took place on the evening of July 16, 2011 between the hours of 2200 hours and 0300 hours while the parents were in public areas of the ship, having left the child in the safe care of Carnival Legend employees, per the cruise line's advertising materials.
Carnival Legend had just left Belize, en route to Tampa, Florida at the end of a 7-night cruise, calling at Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Mexico, Roatan and Belize City.
The childcare facilities aboard the ship are divided by age. Little Jane Doe was left in the area where only children ages 2-5 are permitted. Yet, while the child was under her blanket resting, a 6.5-year-old female passenger was allowed to enter the age 2-5 area, was able to get under the child's blanket to molest, assault and batter the little girl for what appears to be a period of 25 minutes, based on the video tape, without any employee assigned and present in Camp Carnival seeing the attack nor stopping it. Since the assailant is a child, Cruise Bruise will not release the child's name, though it is known.
Nobody from Camp Carnival contacted the parents to inform them of the violation of their policy and the alleged assault. On duty in the babysitting area the night of the incident was Marjana Tomic from Serbia and Lindsay Dwyer from Africa. The Youth Director was Leanne Berger.
The parents of Jane Doe were told that their older child, a girl who was 6-years-old could not join her younger sister in the group, because she was a year too old. Yet, a 6.5-year-old girl was allowed to join the group. This happened because at night, the child center switches to babysitting mode, with the children ages 2-8 joined together for a "slumber party".
The parents on the night of the subject incident, July 17, 2010, and while they were still on the ship, demanded that they see the videotape of the area during the
time in which their child, Jane Doe, was at Camp Carnival for babysitting services. After initial protest by ship’s personnel, including Elizabeth, the Guest Services Supervisor, the parents were shown to an office adjacent to the purser or hotel director’s desk.
In that office, along with Elizabeth, the Guest Services Supervisor, the Staff Captain on the ship, and the Hotel Director of the ship, they viewed the real-time video of the activities which took place in Camp Carnival on July 16 – 17, 2010. That video was in real-time. That video had a time and date stamp. It was not disjointed, the later produced video was disjointed.
As a result of the reported sexual molestation, the parents met with the Guest Services Supervisor, the Hotel Director and the Staff Captain. The parents demanded to see the surveillance video from the Camp Carnival where the babysitting took place and Carnival relented and agreed to show them the video. In the presence of these individuals, the parents viewed a surveillance video from the area where the children in Carnival’s care were babysat.
The parents also brought their daughter to the infirmary where she was examined, pretty much right after they learned in the wee small hours of the morning that an
incident occurred. Dr. Shashidhar examined the child and found her vaginal area was redder than typical, such as when inflamed.
Two weeks after the incident, the parents contacted Carnival Corp and requested copies of the videos from the area in discussion, where a total of 9 video camera feeds were running, four of them directed at the babysitting area.
Carnival denied that parents had been shown any videos while aboard then sent videos from two cameras that were blurred and pixilated, with 17 seconds of video missing. It was clear the tape had been altered, with non-real time movement of those in the video.
Further, Carnival was told within hours of the incident that the videos needed to be preserved and yet, claimed they had no video of the incident, including the video the parents had viewed, which had been downloaded onto a disk before they viewed it.
Carnival maintains no sexual assault existed, because there is no video to prove it, though they had the video and refused to produce it.
Later, Kristi Ainsworth, an employee aboard Legend acting as Supervisor Of Youth Programs would say that the parents were shown the section of the video that applied to the time Jane Doe was in the babysitting area, later on the day of the incident, and the video was on a disk at the time.
After the judge ordered Carnival to produce the real time videos, they did. But, the video the parents had been shown, that which Ainsworth mentioned, was never produced. It simply disappeared.
The sexual molestation was immediately reported by the parents. A copy of the
parent’s statement, made onboard the ship, one hour after they picked up Jane Doe from babysitting was dated July 17, 2010 at 0400 hours.
As a result of the attack, the parents say the child suffered bodily injury, pain, suffering, disability and disfigurement. They say she has also suffered from psychological and psychiatric conditions which were caused by the sexual assault aboard Carnival Legend.
While the name of the parents are known as well as the name of the assailant, Cruise Bruise will not publish their names as that will identify the victim or the child assailant.
Carnival Cruise Lines settled with the parents out of court, for an undisclosed amount.
The lingering question is how and where does a 6.5-year-old little girl learn to sexually assault another little girl? The possibilities are troubling.
4-Year-Old Child
Sexual Assaulted In Camp Carnival
Carnival Cruise Lines Legend - July 16, 2010
