Erik Yates
Erik Yates

Sexual assaults alleged at Universal and on Disney Cruise Line

January 5, 2007, 11:10 AM · The security is in question not only at Universal Orlando where a woman claims she was sexually assaulted in the Express Line for the Revenge of the Mummy, but also a 13-year-old Canadian Tourist was sexually assaulted aboard the Wonder, part of the Disney Cruise Line.

In the case of Universal, the woman said that she asked who she thought was a Universal employee about the entrance to the line when she was grabbed and drug down an emergency exit hallway and assaulted. She fought her way from the man and went screaming into the rest of the line.

In the case of Disney, the girl was told to follow someone who she thought was a Disney employee because he wanted "to show her something". When she wouldn't agree, she was threatened to be thrown overboard. The suspect in that case is in custody while the suspect in the Universal case remains at large.

In both cases, a prime example is set about the lack of security and the need to increase watch and awareness. Still with as many people that visit each area on a daily basis, the fact that these have been the only occurances says that where there are crowds, there are bound to be a few bad apples.

More: WFTV Orlando and WESH Orlando

Replies (7)

krnsngr85
Michael Han
January 5, 2007 at 11:58 AM · Four Words...What is going on???? Why do people do this???? Is it some cheap thrill that gets their adrenaline pumping. Or are they just crying out I wanna get out of this job. I am sorry if I sound angry or anything, but you go to theme parks and to take a cruise to relax and to have fun, not to get sexually assaulted in the process. These two suggest that they are surely and prove to dramatically lose the trust of park and cruise guests.
yaytez
Erik Yates
January 5, 2007 at 2:31 PM · I really dont think it was people working there. Its really a case of how society has gone to hell. A theme park, and cruise line run by a theme park are not safe. Now granted, there were no cameras in that area....but there are cameras all over the place. Cameras are not a deterrent.....they are just a nuisance that was averted. As long as there are people, they will find ways to hurt other people...and make them do things against their will. Its sad to see that the places that we think of as safe, are far from it.
RobertO
Robert OGrosky
January 5, 2007 at 4:03 PM · I dont think these incidents having anything to do with a lack of security or any security problems. If a sick person wants to assault someone, they will do it and pick the time/place. And unless every sngle person has a bodyguard(and a honest one at that) things like this will happen. The only thing to do besides trying to make the environment as safe as possbile it to deal with these people in a ruthless manner once caught and convicted and not the criminal friendly manner they are treated now.
coasterdude
Writer
Anthony Murphy
January 5, 2007 at 5:06 PM · I do not think that its the security.

Honestly,these two allegations, especially the Universal One, sounds very out of the ordinary and very elaborate.Also, the two companies require a cerain clothing and nametag. Don't you think they would have noticed that something is up? Hopefully these people are telling the truth. I believe they are, but it sounds strange anyway.

I think normal partons should also look out for suspicious activity as well and report it.

MisterJohnson
mister johnson
January 5, 2007 at 7:21 PM · That last paragraph makes no sense. Wouldn't the ratio between guests and incidents like this suggest that where there are crowds, there is safety? Certainly the frequency of these unfortunate events is much lower in these attractions than in the outside world where, even when folks live in big towns, there are opportunities from stragglers to get picked off.
markbyrn
Mark Freedman
January 7, 2007 at 6:38 PM · If I read it right, a sexual predator was lurking in the Mummy attraction and a lost single female guest just happened to stumble across him for directions. Sounds wildly improbably, but assuming this isn't a Wendy's Chili Finger gambit, one might guess it's a janitor or maintenance technician who's familiar with, and has access to the off-queue areas of the building. I’d be curious to know - do the theme parks specifically screen out potential employees who show up in the sex crimes databases? Considering the low pay and high turnover rates, I’d imagine they’re not overly picky when it comes to the hourly employees.
JonAnn
JonAnn Cavanaugh
January 8, 2007 at 12:35 PM · I was on the cruise where the young girl got assaulted. I was with my 14 yr old daughter and was horrified to find out what happened a few days later while at disney magic kingdom and another tourist told us what happened. We were docked longer at Nassau with only an explanation that we were waiting for an "important" person to arrive by plane. I understand them not telling us for security reasons and not cause panic- but that night my daughter went to a teen event and they allowed her to walk back to the room alone at 1 am. After finding out what happened I was shocked that they had not additional security. I was naive in thinking that events planned by the cruise were safe and secure. We had a great time on the cruise but will definitely be a more informed next time. i think the cruise line needs to take measures to make the cruise safer for everyone.

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