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Local Man Found Guilty of Sexual Battery On Jacksonville-Based Cruise Ship

Aquitania
/
Wikimedia Commons
File photo of the Carnival Elation cruise ship.

A 23-year-old Jacksonville man could get life in prison for a sexual battery that happened on the Carnival Cruise Ship Elation in February.

The Elation sails from the JAXPORT Cruise Terminal. 

Brian James Holland was found guilty Wednesday by a federal jury.

According to evidence presented at his trial, the victim was a woman with an intellectual disability.

She reported the forced sexual act that took place in a hot tub to her family.  Two other passengers who witnessed the incident backed up her story, according to a news release from the Federal Department of Justice.

Holland’s sentencing is set for October 22.

Contact Jessica Palombo at 904-358-6315, jpalombo@wjct.org or on Twitter at @JessicaPubRadio.

Photo used under Creative Commons license.

Jessica Palombo supervises local news gathering and production, podcasts and web editorial content for WJCT News, ADAPT and Jacksonville Today. She is an award-winning writer and journalist with bylines including NPR, Experience Magazine, and The Gainesville Sun. She has a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from Syracuse University and is an alumna of the University of Florida. A nearly lifelong resident of Jacksonville, she considers herself lucky to be raising her own children in her hometown. Follow Jessica Palombo on Twitter: @JaxJessicaP