The FBI said another passenger spotted the hidden camera above the bathroom door, facing the toilet.
FBI
A passenger on a Royal Caribbean cruise spotted a hidden camera in a public bathroom.
Another passenger who was seen in a video setting up the camera was arrested.
The FBI said the video showed adults and minors as young as 4 years old changing.
A man was arrested Wednesday after officials say he set up a hidden camera in a public cruise ship bathroom and recorded more than 150 people, including minors, before another passenger spotted it, court records showed.
The incident occurred on a seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise that set sail from Miami, Florida, on April 29, according to the criminal complaint compiled by an agent with the FBI. The Harmony of the Seas ship was set to stop in Saint Martin, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas.
About a day after departure, while the ship was in international waters, a hidden camera with WiFi capabilities was placed in a public bathroom on the ship’s top deck, close to a surfing simulator and a bar, the complaint said. Photos included in the complaint showed the small black camera as well as where it was hidden, an open area above the inside of the bathroom door where part of the wall had been removed for repairs.
The following day, May 1, a passenger spotted the camera, of which only the lens was showing, and notified the Royal Caribbean crew. Security personnel removed the camera and located a memory card, on which they found hours worth of footage that included more than 150 people using the bathroom. Some victims were changing and were naked on the recording. About 40 of them appeared to be minors, some as young as 4 or 5 years old, the complaint said.
But the video also showed the suspect setting up the camera and later adjusting its position so that it would focus on the toilet. Within hours security personnel on the ship interviewed passenger Jeremy Froias, who admitted to placing the camera, according to the complaint.
The camera was placed in a public bathroom on the top deck of the Harmony of the Seas.
FBI
Froias was charged with video voyeurism, or recording an individual in a private area without their consent, and the attempted possession of child exploitation material. He was arrested Wednesday, according to court records.
Royal Caribbean and a lawyer for Froias did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.
The FBI is seeking the public’s help in identifying the victims.
“The FBI believes he primarily targeted cruise ship passengers between the timeframe of April 30 and May 1, 2023, who may have used the public bathroom on the aft of the Harmony’s top deck between the ‘Flow Rider’ surfing simulator and a bar. Passengers using this bathroom may have been video recorded by Froias,” an FBI notice said.
They encourage anyone who may have been a victim to fill out a form.
In 2018, a couple from Florida said they found a hidden camera pointing at the bed of their cabin on a Carnival cruise ship.