Dozens banned from Carnival cruises after massive brawl breaks out while docked for customs
Twenty-four people have been banned from sailing with Carnival Cruise Lines after a massive brawl broke out among the passengers.
Phone footage of the incident posted to Facebook by an eyewitness showed a large group of people at the terminal in Galveston, Texas, shoving one another and swinging punches.
The melee, which took place over the weekend as passengers queued for customs, eventually spread past a line of safety barriers. At one point a man can be seen being pushed to the ground and pummelled by a group of assailants.
Members of the facility's security team rushed to intervene while fellow holidaymakers moved out of the way while sidestepping piles of luggage strewn across the floor.
'It went down this morning,' wrote Trelle Ray, who first shared the clip on social media.
The cruise had just returned to the United States after a week touring the western Caribbean, stopping in Mexico and Honduras, when the violence erupted.
'The incident occurred in the debarkation area under the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol,' Carnival explained in a statement to local news outlet KPRC 2.
'The matter was turned over to law enforcement. We will not tolerate such behavior, and 24 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail list.'
Border patrol officials subsequently told KPRC 2 that 10 people had initially been detained but only one man was arrested: Ethan Meritt-Clark, 21, from Chicago, Illinois.
Court records reveal Meritt-Clark said he was debarking from Carnival's Jubilee ship and picking up his luggage when he noticed a group of people 'he had an issue with while on the cruise.'
He told officers he had previously met them a day earlier when they were playing basketball onboard. A fight had broken out during the game.
Meritt-Clark alleged in his affidavit that the group confronted him at the Galveston terminal and started 'hitting and stomping' him to the ground.
But the court documents state that he then 'recanted his original statement' and instead admitted to pushing an elderly man during the fracas.
Investigators subsequently spoke to the elderly man, who said he had been attempting to intervene to calm the situation and had told Merrit-Clark, 'Don't do what you're about to do'.
The 21-year-old is reportedly now facing first-degree felony charges for injury to a child, elderly individual or disabled individual and is being held on a $5,000 bond.
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Wales Online
16 hours ago
- Wales Online
Every parent's nightmare as respected teacher exposed as paedophile who preyed on young girls
Every parent's nightmare as respected teacher exposed as paedophile who preyed on young girls Simon Clark posed as a teenage boy on Snapchat to groom his victims into sending him naked images Simon Clark, 46, formerly of Ellesmere Port but now of no fixed address, was jailed for eight years with four more years on licence after admitting child sex offences (Image: Cheshire Police ) He was a highly respected French teacher. Simon Clark was head of department at Alun School in Mold, with a family at home. But the 46-year-old was harbouring a sickening secret. Clark was posing as a teenage boy on Snapchat in order to entice girls into sending him sexual images. Chester Crown Court heard he preyed on 26 youngsters, aged as young as 10. The father-of-two's wife has since divorced him, his career is over, and he is now behind bars. A judge today sentenced him to eight years in prison, with a further four years to be spent on licence. The paedophile teacher kept his head bowed as he was jailed. The court today [Friday] heard Clark pretended to be a 14-year-old boy using a fake Snapchat profile with the name 'Jamie_jones6968' to send hundreds of explicit messages to girls, persuading some to send sexual images in return. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here . Judge Simon Berkson said he had no doubt his offending would have continued if he hadn't been stopped after the mother of one victim noticed an unknown man had asked her daughter for a naked photograph and reported him to police. Article continues below It was every parent's nightmare, he said. Simon Clark, 46, of no fixed address, outside Chester Crown Court where he admitted 29 child sex offences The case against Clark began in January, 2023, when police in North Wales were contacted by the concerned parent. Initial enquires suggested that the suspect was living in the Cheshire area, so the case was passed to Cheshire Police. An investigation was subsequently launched by detectives from the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) at Cheshire Police and during their enquiries officers established that Clark was the suspect in the case. A warrant was conducted at his home in May, 2023, and four devices were seized from the address. During subsequent analysis officers discovered that Clark had been posing as a teenager using the Snapchat account. The judge said the truth must have come as a "terrible shock" to the victims and their families. He branded Clark a "dangerous" offender. Clark was given an eight year term, with four more years on licence on his release, for inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity. The remaining jail terms, which are all concurrent, range from 40 months to four months. Clark also received concurrent sentences of eight months, four months and four weeks for making indecent images in categories A, B and C. The judge told the defendant he represented a 'significant risk' to children. Judge Berkson said: 'It is, of course, every parent's worst nightmare, this sort of thing happening to their children. 'Many of the offences involve sexual communication, some involving inciting children to engage in sexual activity. This was well planned and sophisticated criminal behaviour. 'You clearly have a sexual interest from the sexual abuse of children and gain sexual gratification from it.' Clark's barrister, Jeremy Rawson, referred to a "black side" to him. He said: "He has lost everything as a result of this. "There's a black side to his character which is unrestrained and he gave into it and he bitterly regrets it." He went on: "It's a terribly sad case. It's sad for those children whose trust has been abused. It's sad for the parents of those children whose trust has been marred by this man. "On the other side of the coin, this is a man who had a future, who had responsibilities and who had an education." When he goes into custody then comes out he will have to "start again from nothing". Clark admitted 29 charges in total. He admitted one count of inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity, two of inciting a child under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity and two counts of inciting a child under 16 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity. He also admitted 21 counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child under 16, making 26 indecent images of children of Category A, making 29 indecent images of children of Category B and making 81 indecent images of children of Category C. Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Louise Murphy and Detective Constable Megan Griffiths, who led the investigation, said: 'Firstly, we would like to praise the victims in this case for the bravery and courage that they have shown throughout this investigation. "Clark was a teacher, he held a position of trust, and the messages we recovered clearly showed that he was well aware that his victims were all under the age of 16, but despite this he continued his crimes in order to satisfy his own warped sexual desires. 'It was apparent throughout the investigation that Clark is a sexual predator who preyed on young girls, with no regard for the effects his actions would have on the victims or their families. 'While they will never be able to forget what he did, we hope the sentence handed to Clark will provide the victims with some closure and allow them to move forward with their lives.' An NSPCC spokesperson said: 'As a teacher Clark had a duty to keep children safe. 'Instead for seven years he posed as a teenage boy on a social media platform, using his fake profile to target and groom young girls before persuading them to send naked images of themselves. 'This kind of sexual abuse can have a devastating impact on the victims and it is vital all the children involved in this case have access to the support they need to move forwards with their lives. Article continues below 'This case also highlights the need for social media sites to be doing much more to protect children and prevent offenders like Clark from using their platforms to carry out their crimes.'
Leader Live
18 hours ago
- Leader Live
Ellesmere Port: Ex-teacher jailed over child sex offences
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Wales Online
19 hours ago
- Wales Online
He was a highly respected high school teacher - but harboured a vile secret
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Simon Clark was a highly respected French teacher at the Alun School in Mold. The 46-year-old was head of department at the Flintshire school, with a family at home. But he was harbouring a sickening secret. Clark was posing as a teenage boy on Snapchat in order to entice girls into sending him sexual images. Chester Crown Court heard he preyed on 26 youngsters, aged as young as 10. The father-of-two's wife has since divorced him, his career is now over, and he is now behind bars. A judge today sentenced him to eight years in prison, with a further four years to be spent on licence. The paedophile teacher kept his head bowed as he was jailed. The court today [Friday] heard Clark pretended to be a 14-year-old boy using a fake Snapchat profile with the name 'Jamie_jones6968' to send hundreds of explicit messages to girl, persuading some to send sexual images in return. You can sign up for all the latest court stories here Judge Simon Berkson said he had no doubt his offending would have continued if he hadn't been stopped after the mother of one victim noticed an unknown man had asked her daughter for a naked photograph and reported him to police. It was every parent's nightmare, he said. (Image: Cheshire Police) The judge said the truth must have come as a "terrible shock" to the victims and their families. He branded Clark a "dangerous" offender. He gave Clark an eight year term, with four more years on licence on his release, for inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity. The remaining jail terms, which are all concurrent, range from 40 months to four months. Clark also got concurrent sentences of eight months, four months and four weeks for making indecent images in categories A, B and C. The judge told the defendant he represented a 'significant risk' to children. Judge Berkson said: 'It is, of course, every parent's worst nightmare, this sort of thing happening to their children. 'Many of the offences involve sexual communication, some involving inciting children to engage in sexual activity. This was well planned and sophisticated criminal behaviour. 'You clearly have a sexual interest from the sexual abuse of children and gain sexual gratification from it.' Clark's barrister Jeremy Rawson referred to a "black side" to him. He said: "He has lost everything as a result of this. "There's a black side to his character which is unrestrained and he gave into it and he bitterly regrets it." He went on: "It's a terribly sad case. It's sad for those children whose trust has been abused. It's sad for the parents of those children whose trust has been marred by this man. "On the other side of the coin, this is a man who had a future, who had responsibilities and who had an education." When he goes into custody then comes out he will have to "start again from nothing". The case against Clark began in January 2023 when police in North Wales were contacted by the concerned parent. Initial enquires suggested that the suspect was living in the Cheshire area, so the case was passed to Cheshire Police. An investigation was subsequently launched by detectives from the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) at Cheshire Police and during their enquiries officers established that Clark was the suspect in the case. A warrant was conducted at his home in May 2023 and four devices were seized from the address. During subsequent analysis officers discovered that Clark had been posing as a teenager using the Snapchat account. Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Louise Murphy and Detective Constable Megan Griffiths, who led the investigation, said: 'Firstly, we would like to praise the victims in this case for the bravery and courage that they have shown throughout this investigation. "Clark was a teacher, he held a position of trust, and the messages we recovered clearly showed that he was well aware that his victims were all under the age of 16, but despite this he continued his crimes in order to satisfy his own warped sexual desires. 'It was apparent throughout the investigation that Clark is a sexual predator who preyed on young girls, with no regard for the effects his actions would have on the victims or their families. 'While they will never be able to forget what he did, we hope the sentence handed to Clark will provide the victims with some closure and allow them to move forward with their lives.' Clark admitted 29 charges in total. He admitted one count of inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity, two of inciting a child under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity and two counts of inciting a child under 16 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity. He also admitted 21 counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child under 16, making 26 indecent images of children of Category A, making 29 indecent images of children of Category B and making 81 indecent images of children of Category C. Find crime figures for your area
