Cris John Pentinio Castor admitted to the FBI that he inappropriately touched children last month while working on Celebrity Silhouette, a cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean Group.
The abuse came to light after a 6-year-old, who had been one of his charges, told authorities that he touched her inappropriately while she was enrolled in the ship’s Camp at Sea program: Celebrity Kids at Sea.
Details on the crime
She had been playing a video game when the crime happened. After being picked up by her parents, the little girl reported the incident to the program manager and later to a forensic interviewer.
At the time, the child and her family had joined a weeklong Thanksgiving cruise from Port Everglades. It sailed from November 20 to 27th.
| According to an affidavit that was filed in Florida and signed by Special Agent M. Alexandra Montilla, Castor “told law enforcement that he was aware and understood that he knowingly touched the minor victim in the vicinity of her vagina.” |
Meanwhile, security footage revealed the crew member reaching into the child’s lap as she played.
Onboard CCTV footage showed more victims
Castor is a Filipino crew member working with Celebrity Cruises as a youth counselor since August 2023. In the same affidavit, he admitted to sexually touching other children who were under his care on multiple occasions.
Castor said that he had at least three more victims. According to the report, he deliberately hid his actions from the security cameras.
| A spokesperson for the cruise line wrote to USA TODAY, “We have zero tolerance for this behavior. We reported this to law enforcement and terminated the crew member, and we will continue to fully cooperate with authorities.” |
Castor has been charged with abusive sexual contact of a minor under 12.
Last month a bartender pleaded guilty on assault charges on the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise ship.
