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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Visas for over 24 individuals, including employees of a Disney Cruise Line vessel, have been revoked by U.S. immigration authorities following accusations related to child sexual abuse imagery.
In a statement released on Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed that officials had boarded eight cruise ships in late April. Their investigation concluded that 27 individuals, predominantly from the Philippines, were implicated in activities involving the “receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing” of such illicit images.
As a result, the visas of those involved were annulled, and the individuals were deported to their countries of origin, according to the statement.
The agency refrained from commenting on whether there were any victimized passengers on board these ships. Details about the specific vessels, the criteria for their selection, or the locations of the operations were also not disclosed. The statement clarified that no further information could be provided at this time.
Several media reports have indicated that at least some of the inspected ships had made stops in San Diego.
Disney Cruise Line in a statement said the company has a “zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement. While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company.”