A federal grand jury on St. Thomas returned a two-count superseding indictment against Louie Ison Mangampat, 37, of the Philippines, charging him with one count of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of committing a hate crime, U.S. Attorney Gretchen Shappert announced.
The indictment was handed down Thursday, and announced in a news release issued Tuesday.
According to the news release, the indictment stems from Mangampat allegedly sexually assaulting a crew member on board a Celebrity cruise ship in September 2019. The superseding indictment adds the hate crime offense to the original grand jury indictment previously returned on Nov. 7, 2019.
Under federal law, Mangampat faces a maximum sentence of up to life in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Virgin Islands Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Everard E. Potter.
