A 28-year-old man was apprehended over the weekend at Port Everglades on allegations of raping a 20-year-old woman aboard the Freedom of the Seas, as reported by Local News 10. The arrest took place shortly after the Royal Caribbean cruise ship returned to Fort Lauderdale following a week-long journey to the Bahamas, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands.
Upon his arrest, Juan Campos was taken into custody at a Fort Lauderdale jail. Campos’s defense attorney stated to the media that “it appears they were engaging in some physical intimacy which escalated; when the woman said ‘stop,’ he complied.” The attorney characterized the situation as typical for a cruise, saying that “he was simply with friends, socializing with others onboard, and suddenly he finds himself facing this charge.” Interestingly, the lawyer noted that the police report did not mention “force or violence,” suggesting that if there had been, additional charges would have been made. However, as many understand, the definition of rape hinges on the absence of consent rather than the presence of force. The arrest report described the victim’s experience, indicating that she was allegedly violated with an unidentified object against her will, stating, “in her pain, the victim pushed the defendant’s shoulders and told him to stop, saying it was hurting her.”
Statistics provided by Royal Caribbean to the FBI, under the Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act, reveal that at least ten allegations of rape and sexual assault were reported on its ships during the first half of this year.
Sexual assaults, including rape, rank as the most frequently reported offenses on cruise vessels.
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Image credit: Juan Campos, arrest report, and screen grab – Local 10 News; Freedom of the Seas – Beyond My Ken – CC BY-SA 4.0 commons wikimedia.
September 4, 2024 Update:
The Miami Herald has more details (“At one point, Campos was on top of her and unbuttoned her shorts, the report states. He then penetrated her with something against her will, deputies say. The woman tried pushing Campos off of her, even telling him that ‘it hurts’ and to ‘stop,’ according to the report. Campos, however, persisted and attempted to flip her over to assault her further but was unsuccessful, deputies added.”) as well as a statement from Campos’ defense attorney (“Campos’ lawyer, Ed Hoeg, stated in an email to the Herald that his client is innocent, and there are witnesses who can challenge the alleged victim’s account of the events.”)
