Man Caught With Child Porn On FL Cruise Ship Sentenced To Prison

ORLANDO, FL — A man was sentenced to eight years in prison this week after federal authorities found child sex abuse images on his phone as he returned to Florida from a cruise.

Christopher Michael Ratten, 32, of Stafford, Virginia, pleaded guilty to charges in October, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.

According to court documents, on Sept. 4, 2021, Ratten flew from Washington, D.C. to Port Canaveral, Florida, where he boarded a cruise ship bound for the Bahamas.

When the ship returned to Port Canaveral five days later, a Homeland Security Investigations agent searched Ratten’s cell phone and located child sex abuse images on the device. Further investigation revealed that Ratten had more than 4,500 images and videos of child sex abuse on his phone, many of which depicted the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers and bestiality.

Ratten was sentenced Thursday.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.