Celebrity Cruises Youth Counselor Faces Molestation Charges

Sexual assault of passengers happens on cruise ships.   We have represented numerous cruise ship rape and assault victims over the years.

A 35-year-old cruise ship youth counselor is in custody in Broward County jail after being charged with abusive sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12. The FBI reports the man sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl this past November aboard Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Silhouette Cruise Line while she was playing a video game in the youth center.

Shockingly, per the Miami Herald, the counselor, Cris John Pentinio Castor, also admitted to the FBI that he had touched at least three other minor children in the vaginal area while on board the ship. Castor was working as a youth counselor in the Celebrity Silhouette’s Camp at Sea Youth Center, having started in his position in August 2023.

The child’s father lodged a complaint with the Youth Center manager after his daughter reported that “she had been touched by ‘CJ’ on her ‘private parts.’” She also told a forensic investigator that Castor had touched her beneath her clothing. Prosecutors report that security footage helped confirm the girl’s account of what happened:

Security footage from the Youth Center captured the incident from behind and portrays minor victim and Castor sitting next to each other. Though the footage does not capture the contact directly, the footage is consistent with minor victim’s statement and shows Castor’s hand reaching into the lap of minor victim, in the vicinity of her vaginal area, while she played a video game on November 27, 2023,” the affidavit reads.

The arrest report also notes that Castor told law enforcement “he knowingly touched the child and ‘also admitted to the inappropriate sexual touching of other minor children that were in his care at the Youth Center, on multiple occasions, while consciously hiding his acts from the Youth Center’s security cameras.’”

Castor broke federal law Title 18, Section 2244, which “makes it a federal crime for anyone, within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States of America, to knowingly engage or attempt to engage in sexual contact with a person who has not attained 12 years of age.” The Celebrity Silhouette was traveling in the territorial jurisdiction of the United States at the time of the crime, according to the FBI.

No other victims have stepped forward publicly at this time. Castor remains in custody in Pompano Beach on a US Marshalls and immigration hold, pending trial.

Hickey Law Firm fights for victims of sexual assault and rape on cruise ships

. Castor has admitted to molesting other children on this particular voyage, and potentially other voyages. Why has he been allowed to continue working on cruise ships? Was there a background check? Was he monitored?  Were there other complaints?

Hickey Law Firm works extensively on these types of cases. We are aware of the long-term impact a sexual assault can have, especially on a child. It is important to get experienced attorneys on your side as soon as possible if you believe your child was assaulted on a cruise ship. We take these cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay until you win, so all you need to worry about is taking care of your child. Our sexual abuse attorneys can help you file a civil suit and hold the cruise line financially responsible for what happened to your child.

Hickey Law Firm specializes in “life changing injuries”®. Call us first. Call us now. 800.215.7117

Sexual assault cases present unique challenges. Survivors deserve attorneys who listen to them, who fight for them, and who know how to win.  This is what we do.

Lead attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey represented cruise lines for the first 17 years of his career.  Now and for the last 25 years, Hickey has represented only passengers against the cruise lines.

The Best Lawyers in America® recognizes Jack Hickey in three areas: Admiralty and Maritime Law, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, and Medical Malpractice – Plaintiffs. Hickey is double Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Admiralty and Maritime Law and Civil Trial law. He is also Board Certified in Civil Trial by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA).

We focus on you and your case. We believe in quality over quantity. We don’t have hundreds of lawyers on our staff or hundreds of cases on our desks. We have a few experienced, aggressive lawyers who focus on each case – including yours. You need our undivided attention when your child has suffered harm. We are here to provide it.

To talk to a compassionate and dedicated sexual assault attorney today, contact Hickey Law Firm. We are located in Miami where most of the cruise lines are located and where most of these cases are required to be filed.  But we represent you no matter where you live.  Call us or write us today for a no obligation, free consultation.  Remember – there are no fees unless we win. All fees are out of any recovery, not from you. Before that, there is no obligation or up-front costs.