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Two men on gay cruise charged with public buggery in Dominica
By the TDN Wire Staff
March 21, 2012 6:30 P.M.
The celebrity x cruiseliner docked in the Roseau port this morning. |
Roseau, Dominica (TDN) -- Police in Dominica have arrested and charged two visitors who arrived today on an all gay male Celebrity X Cruise liner with buggery and indecent exposure after they were accused of openly having sex on the boat while docked in the Roseau port.
John Robert Hart and Dennis Jay Mayer, both California natives were taken off the ship by armed police and are being held overnight in the country’s jail, and are set to appear before a magistrate for a court hearing on Thursday.
The arrival of the all male gay cruise in Dominica has brought severe criticism from the largely catholic and homophobic population on the island. Callers took to the local radio airwaves denouncing the authorities for allowing the ship into Dominica.
Scores of curious onlookers crowded the Roseau port to look at the arrivals as they boarded busses for tours around the country. Several regular bus drivers refused to go on tour with some complaining that they were turned off by the public displays of affection.
According to the laws of Dominica, buggery (or sodomy) is an illegal act and conviction could result in as much as ten years in prison.
Celebrity X Cruises did not immediately comment on the arrests. The cruise was organized by Atlantis Events, a Southern California company that specializes in gay travel. The ship left Puerto Rico on Saturday and arrived in Dominica on Wednesday with about 2,000 passengers.
It is scheduled to leave the island later tonight.
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