A crew ship worker is scheduled to appear in Newark federal court for allegedly engaging in abusive sexual contact with a sleeping woman aboard a cruise ship, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced.
Karan Seechurn, 25, was detained upon arrival in Bayonne - Dec. 27- and arrested by agents of the FBI. He is charged by complaint with abusive sexual contact and is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint:
Seechurn was an employee of the cruise line and was responsible for restocking the minibars located in passengers’ rooms. In order to conduct this duty, he was provided with a key that gave him access to passengers’ rooms. On Dec. 23, 2014, he allegedly used this key to access passengers’ rooms when he was not authorized or permitted to do so. Seechurn entered a sleeping female passenger’s room without her knowledge and permission. She awoke to find Seechurn touching her genitalia and she pushed him off her. When she tried to leave the room, he pulled her back and threated to burn down the cruise ship if she told anyone.
The federal government has special maritime jurisdiction over sexual abuse cases, such as those that occur on cruise ships.