PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – Federal agents said they arrested a man at Port Canaveral on Monday on charges he transported child pornography on a cruise ship.
According to court documents, investigators said Michael Harrison, 51, was taken into custody when they found two files on his laptop computer containing child pornography.
They said Harrison, who was visiting from Nevada, had just arrived at Port Canaveral from a four-day cruise to the Bahamas.
“A routine records check by Customs and Border Protection revealed Michael Harrison is a registered sex offender in (the) State of Nevada,” the court documents revealed.
They said he was convicted in California ten years ago of committing a lewd act on a child.
That prompted a search, according to the records, which revealed the child pornography files on his computer.
Agents arrested Harrison, and they booked him in jail.
"Generally there’s no prohibition against a sex offender going on a cruise ship or a theme park," said News 6 Legal Analyst Steven Kramer.
He was asked about the screening process when passengers return to ports, like Port Canaveral.
"For citizens, it is a very different encounter than when you encounter the police, generally," he said. "You do not have the same rights and, generally, customs can go ahead and search your luggage or your belongings when you enter the United States."
Harrison appeared before a federal magistrate on Monday afternoon.
He reappeared in court on Tuesday afternoon, where his public defender asked for bond, so he could get out of jail.
The judge denied the request, writing in his opinion: "No condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community."
If convicted of transporting child pornography, Harrison could face a mandatory five year prison sentence.