A passenger on a Celebrity cruise was indicted over an alleged sexual assault involving a crew member

• A cruise passenger was charged with abusive sexual contact after an incident with a crew member.
• Daniel Farias is accused of sexually assaulting a crew member in August 2022, per court documents.

A grand jury indicted a passenger on a Celebrity Cruises trip over what federal authorities said was abusive sexual contact on a cruise from Iceland to Boston last August.

On January 14 the jury indicted Daniel Farias, 45, of Bloomington, Minnesota, for allegedly sexually assaulting a 40-year-old crew member on the Celebrity Summit by grabbing his crotch on August 30, 2022, according to court documents seen by Insider.

Farias was charged in August last year and was due to appear in federal court in Boston Friday.

"Daniel anxiously awaits his opportunity to establish his innocence at trial, if necessary. He will enter a plea of not guilty at his arraignment tomorrow," said Farias' attorney Robert Goldstein on Thursday.

A number of travel companies have documented past incidents involving passengers and transport workers. In November, a woman was seen on video threatening to kill a Southwest flight attendant. Meanwhile, Carnival Cruises has introduced new rules threatening passengers with fines of up to $500 for rowdy behavior.

The cruise departed from Reykjavík, Iceland on August 19, and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts on August 31. Staff asked police to meet the ship when it arrived in Boston.

According to the District of Massachusetts' US Attorney's Office, the crew member was cleaning a men's restroom when Farias left a stall and approached him.

According to the crew member, Farias began rubbing the staff member's forearm after the staff member had handed him a towel. The crew member asked the passenger what he was doing before Farias allegedly tried to grab his crotch and made a lewd comment.

The incident occurred between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., according to the crew member, who said that Farias did not seem to have been drunk.

After Farias left the restroom, the crew member notified his supervisor, who then alerted security, according to the court documents.

Video showed Farias entering and leaving the restroom around the time the crew member said the incident occurred.

A conviction for abusive sexual contact carries a jail term of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

According to the court documents, Farias said he did not recall an encounter, but was sorry if he had done anything.

An attorney for Farias did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

A representative for Celebrity Cruises declined to comment.