Crime & Safety
Mauritius Citizen Sentenced To Prison For Cruise Ship Sex Abuse
A Newark federal judge gave Karan Seechurn 13 months in jail for touching a woman's genitalia while she slept.
A federal judge in Newark sentenced a citizen of Mauritius to 13 months in prison on Wednesday for sexually abusing a sleeping woman aboard a cruise ship.
Karan Seechurn, 26, previously pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office (NJ), the federal government has special maritime jurisdiction over sexual abuse cases, such as those that occur on cruise ships.
Find out what's happening in Newarkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Prosecutors stated that Seechurn was employed by a cruise line and was responsible for restocking the minibars located in passengers’ rooms. In order to conduct this duty, he was provided with a key that gave him access to passengers’ rooms.
Seechurn admitted that on Dec. 23, 2014, while he was off-duty, he entered a passenger’s room and encountered a sleeping woman.
Find out what's happening in Newarkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Seechurn admitted that he touched the passenger’s genitalia while she was asleep.
In addition to the prison term, Seechurn was sentenced to one year of supervised release.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
