Skip to main content
Press Release

Former Cruise Line Employee Guilty of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on January 8, 2025, ABDUL ROUVOOF SHAIK (“SHAIK”), age 30, a Republic of India national, pled guilty to Possession of Materials Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(4)(B) and (b)(2).  SHAIK faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, a period of supervised release of up to life, and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee.

According to court documents, SHAIK was previously employed by Carnival Cruise Lines and was arrested in July 2024 after special agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, found SHAIK in possession of child pornography at the Erato Street Cruise Terminal in New Orleans.

Sentencing in this matter is scheduled for April 16, 2025 before United States District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle.

These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit.

Contact

Shane M. Jones

Public Information Officer

United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana

United States Department of Justice

Updated January 10, 2025
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component
USAO - Louisiana, Eastern

Related Content

Press Release
St. Tammany Parish Man Charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Coercion and Enticement of a Minor

SLIDELL, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney David I. Courcelle announced that DEVIN JUNEAU, (“JUNEAU”), age 40, was charged on April 24, 2026 in a two-count Indictment by a federal grand jury.

Press Release
FBI Undercover Operation Results in Three Men Charged After Travelling for the Purpose of Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct with Minors

NEW ORLEANS – RICHARD JACKSON WHITE, age 46, from Purvis, Mississippi, NICHOLAS JOHN ENGOLIA, age 32, from Slidell, Louisiana, and DUSTIN LEE SEITZ, age 40, from Gulfport, Mississippi...

Press Release
Slidell Man Gets Nearly 10 Years in Prison for Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Material

NEW ORLEANS – JONATHAN SUAREZ (“SUAREZ”) , age 30, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, was sentenced on April 21, 2026 to 118 months in prison by Chief United States District Judge...