Cruise Ship Passenger Raped Drunk Boy, 15, During Bermuda Voyage, Pleads Guilty in Boston Court

Norwegian Dawn cruise ship rape
A general view of the Norwegian Dawn cruise liner at the Boston Cruise Terminal in South Boston on the waterfront on September 6, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. Paul Marotta/Getty Images

A 32-year-old man pleaded guilty to raping a drunk teenage boy onboard the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship while it was docked in Bermuda during a seven day voyage from Boston.

Adam Christopher Boyd, a hairdresser of Bay Springs, Mississippi, admitted raping the intoxicated child in an incident that took place back in August 2017, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

The victim reported the rape to the cruise ship's security who in turn alerted the authorities in Bermuda. The Bermuda Police Service arrested Boyd and he appeared in federal court in Boston.

A judge initially released Boyd on conditions, but he violated those terms in November 2018 and was detained. He has been in custody since and now awaits sentencing on August 1 for one count of sexual abuse of a minor.

Boyd faces a minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum of 15, supervised release for the rest of his life upon completion of the term, and a fine of up to $250,000.

The original affidavit alleged that the boy met Boyd at around 1:12 a.m. on August 14 on the ship's 13th deck. Boyd, who was unknown to the boy, was with a group the teen already knew from the cruise.

Boyd offered to walk the drunk boy back to his cabin, and then repeatedly asked the teen back to his own cabin instead, despite the minor declining to do so. The pair were seen on the cruise ship's surveillance cameras.

After Boyd started kissing the child and molesting him in a secluded area of the 14th deck, he raped the teenager at around 2:45 a.m. before leaving the area.

The distressed boy subsequently attempted, together with a group of friends, to locate and confront Boyd but could not find him.

Later, the teen reported the sexual assault to a family member, who then told the ship's security what had happened, leading to Boyd's arrest in his cabin.

On another Norwegian Cruise Lines vessel, a man allegedly beat a woman unconscious in an April 25 incident aboard the Norwegian Gem.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts charged Adam Damian Panetta, 45, of Farmingville, New York, with one count of assault and one count of assault resulting in substantial bodily injury.

Surveillance video allegedly shows a woman slapping Panetta in the face with an open hand as he tries to open a cabin door. Panetta then punches her twice in the head, knocking the woman out and leaving her bloodied, before entering the cabin.

"After about one minute, Panetta came out of the cabin and leaned down to the woman, who was unresponsive," the U.S. Attorney's report said. "Eventually, the woman began to crawl into the room. Panetta did not appear to assist her, and as she began to crawl, Panetta kicked her twice in the buttocks. He then followed her into the room."

The charge of assault carries a sentence of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. The charge of assault resulting in substantial bodily injury can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

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Shane Croucher is a Senior Editor based in London, UK. He oversees the My Turn team. He has previously overseen ... Read more

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