A judge denied bond Friday for one of the male suspects accused of forcing a 15-year-old girl to have sex aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
Luiz Scavone, 20, faces one count of lewd and lascivious acts, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. The crime is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in a state prison.
The bond court judge told Scavone, of Brazil, that he was a "flight risk," and that he wanted to ensure that Scavone would be present at his trial.
"If I am looking at 15 years in prison, I've got lots of incentive to leave and never come back," the judge told Scavone.
The judge also referenced the case of a Boynton Beach police officer accused of several crimes who fled West Palm Beach to Brazil because Brazil's constitution prohibits extradition of criminals.
"I don't think there are any conditions of pretrial release that I can set that will prevent him realistically from leaving this country and never coming back," the judge said. "That said, I will do everything in my power to expedite the process."
A statement from the defendant's brother said that the sex between Scavone and the victim was consensual, which still constitutes a crime due to the age difference, according to the judge.
"She's a U.S. citizen, and this is the United States of America, so we are going to hold Mr. Scavone on no bond pending resolution in this case," the judge said.
The victim was at the teen club Fuel on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship when a 15-year-old boy told her he was having a party in his room, BSO said.
She was led to believe that she would meet friends there and entered the room willingly. But she was confronted there by Scavone and found herself alone with him and the 15-year-old, the BSO said.
The two suspects prevented her from leaving, forced her to give them oral sex, and then forced her to have intercourse with both of them, according to the BSO. She told them “no” several times and tried to leave but was not able to, the BSO said.
