A Maryland man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for committing sexual assault on a cruise ship in Baltimore. Jalen Thomas Kelley, 22, of Abingdon, Maryland, was convicted by a federal jury of aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, and assault. U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin handed down the sentence along with five years of supervised release.
The announcement came from U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland, along with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI's Baltimore Field Office. The trial revealed that Kelley raped and assaulted a victim aboard the Carnival Legend between January 1 and January 2, 2023, just prior to the vessel’s return to Baltimore. Additional testimony from six other individuals who claimed Kelley sexually assaulted them was presented during the trial.
U.S. Attorney Hayes acknowledged the efforts of the FBI in the investigation and expressed gratitude for the support of the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, the Union County, North Carolina, District Attorney’s Office, Wingate University Campus Safety, Wingate, North Carolina Police Department, and the Wingate Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean R. Delaney and Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn led the prosecution of the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006. The project aims to address the issue of child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders and rescue victims. Additional information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
For further details on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and its community resources, visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and the community outreach section at https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
