A resident of Polk Metropolis, Florida was arrested on the Port of Tampa on costs of possessing and transporting youngster pornography on the Margaritaville at Sea’s Islander, based on an area information station in Tampa.
James Oxley, age 52, boarded the Islander cruise ship, operated by Margaritaville at Sea, on December 17, 2025 for a 5 day cruise to ports in Mexico. Nearly fifteen years earlier (April 2012), Oxley was discovered responsible in Orange County, Florida on three counts of possession of {a photograph} or image exhibiting the sexual efficiency by a baby, in violation of Florida Statute 827.071(5). This conviction required Oxley to register as a sexual offender.
Oxley considered pornographic pictures (each pictures and movies) of minors on his iPhone in the course of the cruise. The felony courtroom file reveals that when Oxley was arrested on the finish of the cruise, his iPhone contained roughly 2,041 pictures and 6 movies in a folder tilted “Just lately Deleted,” solely 17 of which weren’t youngster pornography or youngster erotica.
When the cruise ship returned to port and Oxley was disemarking, he was referred to a secondary inspection by Customs and Border Safety (CBP) on account of Oxley’s standing as a intercourse offender. Whereas in secondary inspection, CBP Officers found Oxley was in possession of an iPhone 13. Oxley supplied the passcode to his iPhone 13 to CBP. Throughout an preliminary inspection, CBP Officers noticed youngster pornography within the “Just lately Deleted” folder. The officers decided that he tried to delete the pictures on December 21, 2024 whereas the cruise ship was at sea returning to port in Tampa, after visiting Progreso and Cozumel, Mexico.
A assessment of the federal courtroom felony file contained an affidavit from a Particular Agent with the USA Division of Homeland Safety, Homeland Safety Investigations who considered Oxley’s cellphone. Of the quite a few pictures, there have been pictures of kids between the ages of 5 and eight years previous.
After being suggested of and waiving his Miranda rights, Oxley informed the brokers that shortly earlier than the cruise, he visited a Russian web site that’s “well-known for internet hosting pictures and movies of kid pornography and youngster erotica.” He additionally admitted that he started “saving pictures sporadically from this web site since his prior conviction for youngster pornography in 2012.”
A press launch from the U.S. Legal professional’s for the Center District of Florida indicated that Oxley additionally possessed AI generated pictures that depicted minors engaged in sexually specific conduct. Oxley faces a most penalty of 40 years in federal jail for transporting youngster intercourse abuse materials and as much as 20 years in federal jail for the AI offenses and possession of pictures and movies of kid exploitation.
Of curiosity, this specific cruise line, Margaritaville at Sea, apparently permits intercourse offenders to cruise with out restrictions. Some cruise strains, notably Carnival and Royal Caribbean, don’t allow sexual offenders to cruise on their ships.
Anybody convicted of being a sexual offender should register and their standing is available to the general public. On the time of this cruise, the Florida Division of Legislation Enforcement (FDLE). FDLE had listed Oxley’s standing as a intercourse offender and its on-line web site had a flyer posted on its web site (see beneath). Oxley’s standing as a convicted sexual offender was additionally obtainable on the Nationwide Intercourse Offender Public Web site.
The truth that Oxley boarded the Islander cruise ship with actually hundreds of sexually specific pictures involving minors may simply have been prevented if Margaritaville at Sea merely had the identical coverage as Carnival and Royal Caribbean of reviewing the intercourse offender database. Contemplating that there are no less than 750,000 registered sexual offenders within the U.S., it’s gone time that each one cruise strains undertake and implement a ban towards sexual offenders being allowed on cruise ships. Does anybody actually need to go on a household cruise with a convicted intercourse offender with hundreds of pictures of kid pornography on his iPhone?
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Picture credit: James Oxley mugshots – Pinellas County Sheriff’s Workplace by way of FOX13 and FDLE Sexual Offenders and Predators Search database; Tampa-Mexico cruise schematic – iCruise; Islander – Margaritaville at Sea.
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