Disney cruise ship staffers arrested for involvement in child pornography

A number of staffers onboard a Disney cruise ship docked in San Diego in California of the United States were arrested for their direct or indirect involvement in child pornography racket, law enforcement officials were quoted as saying by New York Post.

According to the report, US Customs and Border Protection boarded five cruise ships which also included the Disney cruise ship between April 23 and April 25. They were investigating the child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) enforcement operations, a CBP spokesperson told The California Post.

The spokesperson said that the customs and border protection officials interviewed 26 suspected crew members and found them to be involved in child pornography – viewing, possessing, transporting, or distributing.

“After boarding the vessels and interviewing 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines, one suspected crew member from Portugal, and one from Indonesia, officers confirmed all subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child pornography,” the spokesperson said, adding, “CBP cancelled their visas and these criminals are being removed from our country.”

As some Disney staffers were arrested, a Disney spokesperson told the California Post that they have a zero tolerance towards such behaviour. It also clarified that most staffers had either left the company or were not from their cruise line.

“We have 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,” the spokesperson said.

Just last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that it plans to lay off 1,000 employees in the coming weeks – making it the first major round of layoffs at Disney after the new chief executive officer, Josh D’Amaro, assumed the role.

The upcoming Disney layoffs are likely to affect fewer than 1% of the company's total staff, according to a separate report by Reuters. At the end of fiscal year 2025, Disney employed about 231,000 people.

As per the WSJ report, many of the Disney layoffs will be in the company's marketing department, which was recently consolidated.

Walt Disney's new Chief Executive Josh D'Amaro also today laid out his strategy for the entertainment company, saying it would remain committed to creative excellence, strengthen its streaming business, capitalize on the power of live sports and continue to invest in its theme parks and cruise lines.

"Our focus remains consistent – improve the consumer experience, deepen engagement, and continue building a healthy and more durable growth business," D'Amaro said.

(With agency inputs)