Pictured: the inside and outside of the bathroom where Jeremy Froias allegedly placed a hidden camera (via court documents)
A voyeuristic cruise ship passenger was caught on his own hidden camera videos installing and adjusting the device that recorded some 150 victims, dozens of them minors, in “various stages of undress,” according to the FBI.
Jeremy Froias, a married father of two, boarded Royal Caribbean’s ship “Harmony of the Sea” in Miami, Florida, on April 29 and recorded videos of passengers’ “naked genitals, buttocks, and female breasts” until he was caught on the night of May 1, federal authorities allege. The cruise included planned stops in Saint Maarten, San Juan, and the Bahamas before it was scheduled to return to Miami a week later.
The May 3rd complaint included several pictures of what appears to be a unisex public bathroom near the cruise ship’s pool area. One of the photos showed the device that one passenger reported to the ship’s crew, the complaint said.
Hidden camera in Jeremy Froias incident (via court documents)
Froias allegedly installed the device the day after he boarded the cruise.
“On or about April 30, 2023, when the Harmony was navigating in international waters, Froias installed a hidden Wi-Fi camera in a public bathroom on the aft of the Harmony’s top deck, between the ‘Flow Rider’ surfing simulator and a bar,” the feds said, claiming that the device was “secreted in a section of the wall above the door which had been removed for repairs.”
Federal authorities credited a passenger for noticing and reporting a camera lens (pictured in the red circle in the image immediately above).
“At about 7:00 p.m. on May 1, 2023, another passenger noticed the hidden camera and reported it to the Harmony’s crew. Harmony security personnel searched the bathroom and found and seized the hidden camera,” the complaint said.
Investigators, who said they have reason to believe the defendant was watching the camera feed on his Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max, alleged that the suspect was visible on his own illicit recordings “hiding the camera and adjusting the angle of the camera, so it focuses on the area of the toilet.”
“The videos also depicted Froias initially installing the camera on or about April 30, 2023, based on the camera’s timestamp,” court documents said. “The videos depicted Froias then returning to the bathroom on or about May 1, 2023, to adjust the angle of the camera lens. Froias’s iPhone can be seen in this video, and it appears to be displaying the video feed being captured by the camera.”
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At least 40 of the 150-plus people recorded by Froias are minors, the feds said.
“Individuals are seen coming into the bathroom to either use the toilet or to change into or out of swimsuits,” the complaint noted.
The hidden camera’s “micro-SD card” contained recordings of “minors’ naked genitals and buttocks,” and some of the victims are believed to be as young as 4 or 5 years old, court documents added.
Cruise ship security apparently confronted Froias and interviewed the defendant after the camera was discovered. He allegedly confessed:
At about midnight on May 1, 2023, Harmony security personnel interviewed Froias regarding the hidden camera. During this interview Froias admitted to placing the hidden camera in the bathroom. Froias told Harmony security personnel that he knew the camera had been found and taken because when he went to look for it on the evening of May 1, 2023, he was unable to find it.
The defendant now faces federal charges of video voyeurism and attempted possession of child exploitation material.
The federal court docket noted that a detention hearing was held on Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Giselle Lopez-Soler in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The docket revealed that Froias is a married father of two.
The judge allowed him to be released “subject to the qualification of his wife as a TPC,” which appears to mean “third party custodian.”
“Defendant is to post a $25,000 unsecured bond to be signed by him and the TPC. He is to reside at the address of record. Defendant is not to have unsupervised contact with any minors under the age of 18, including his two children. His two children will reside at the alternate address proposed by counsel (grandparents’ residence),” said an order setting the conditions of the defendant’s release from custody. “The Defendant is to be subject to an EMD [electronic monitoring device] in home detention modality.:
Froias has been barred from accessing the internet, whether at home or at work, and he must surrender his passport.
“Travel is restricted between Puerto Rico and Middle District of Florida,” the judge ordered.
Law&Crime reached out to Froias’ attorney of record for comment.
“Mr. Froias has not been indicted at this time. Therefore, I have no comment,” defense attorney Leo Aldridge said in response.
The FBI is asking potential victims in the case to fill out a form and provide “information relevant to this investigation.”
“The FBI is legally mandated to identify victims of federal crimes it investigates. Victims may be eligible for certain services, restitution, and rights under federal and/or state law. Your responses are voluntary but may be useful in the federal investigation and to identify you as a potential victim,” the FBI said. “Based on the responses provided, you may be contacted by the FBI and asked to provide additional information. All identities of victims will be kept confidential.”
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