A school soccer participant with a historical past of sexual assault raped a 17-year-old woman aboard a Carnival cruise ship whereas she was celebrating the vacations together with her household — earlier than callously asking, “Are you okay?”
James Thomas Kelly, now 22, was discovered responsible of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and assault in reference to the incident aboard the Carnival Legend between Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, 2023, the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the District of Maryland mentioned.
The Wingate College government was already convicted of sexually abusing a minor in 2019 — and jurors heard testimony from six individuals who accuse him of different sexual assaults, together with when he was already below investigation by the FBI for the cruise rape.
In that case, he “forcefully assaulted” {the teenager} after taking her again to his cabin when she wanted the toilet – then pushed her “face ahead” onto the mattress and raped her, prosecutors mentioned.
However he “noticed that (she) was intoxicated (by his personal admission), realized she was susceptible” and “took full benefit of the state of affairs,” prosecutors wrote in court docket paperwork received from the state.
“After raping her, Kelly requested, ‘Are you okay?'” the paperwork mentioned.
Kelly denied raping {the teenager} when FBI brokers visited him on the school in April 2023, prosecutors mentioned.
However after the feds arrested him on the college in September 2023, a scholar got here ahead and reported that Kelly had additionally raped her, prosecutors mentioned.
As of November 2023 There was an impressive warrant for Kelly’s arrest for second-degree aggravated rape in reference to that sufferer, in response to court docket paperwork.
Throughout his two-week trial, jurors heard testimony from six individuals who accused Kelly of sexually assaulting them on numerous events, together with whereas the FBI was investigating him after the cruise, prosecutors mentioned.
He was additionally convicted as a juvenile in a 2019 sexual assault case, prosecutors mentioned.
“Kelly has a troubling historical past of allegations of sexual assault by women and men since early 2017. till September 2023,” prosecutors wrote in court docket paperwork.
Kelly faces as much as life in jail within the federal case, in response to the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace.
