A Holland America Line crew member was arrested on child pornography charges.
Law enforcement officers found sexually explicit images and photos of minors during a search of Koen Leonard Eyck’s electronic devices in Port Everglades upon his arrival on Saturday, according to an arrest affidavit signed by Special Agent Michelle Maglione of Homeland Security Investigations. Eyck, 35, worked on the line’s Nieuw Statendam ship.
The affidavit did not specify his role on board.
Child sexual abuse material involving minors between the ages of 4 and 6 was found in the WhatsApp and Telegram chats on van Eyck’s iPhone, the affidavit said. The Dutchman is also said to have paid $35 in March 2023 for links to child pornography.
Eyck admitted to police that he had paid for child sexual abuse material through PayPal and that he had received links through WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook Messenger, the affidavit said.
“He admitted that he had received links to child sexual abuse material over the past five to 10 years,” the affidavit said. “Eyck stated that he knew that it is ‘illegal to possess child pornography anywhere in the world.’”
Holland America Line’s Zaandam and Rotterdam cruise ships will arrive at Port Everglades on April 2, 2020.
He is suspected of transporting child pornography and possessing child pornography. Attorneys listed for Eyck did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“These allegations are deeply disturbing and we will not tolerate criminal behavior,” a Holland America spokesperson told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and have immediately terminated the individual involved.”
The case is not the only one of its kind on cruise ships in recent months. Two Carnival Cruise Line crew members were arrested in July on child pornography charges, following the arrest of a Celebrity Cruises employee and three Disney Cruise Line crew members on similar charges between January and April.
Anthony Salisbury, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Miami, told USA TODAY in August that child exploitation is “significantly higher across the board,” and not just in the cruise industry.
“If it’s across the board, you’ll see it on all cruise ships,” he said at the time.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Holland America crew member arrested on child pornography charges
