A Maryland man raped a teenager aboard a cruise ship as she celebrated the holidays with her family, then asked her a deplorable question.
Jalen Thomas Kelley, 22, of Abingdon, was found guilty of aggravated sexual abuse, sexual assault and sexual assault in connection with the incident aboard the Carnival Legend between Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, 2023, federal prosecutors announced last week.
They alleged that Kelley met a 17-year-old aboard the cruise ship after a New Year’s Eve party and took her back to his cabin when she needed to use the bathroom.
When she then stepped outside, Kelley pushed her “face first” onto the bed and raped her, the accuser said in court documents obtained by the State.
‘After a rape [her]Kelley asked, “Are you OK?” the federal complaint reads.
At that point, the teen left his room, and after the ship later returned to a port in Baltimore and she and her family returned to Virginia, the girl reported the rape to her parents and police.
She was later examined at a local hospital, where doctors found she had bruises on her right arm and shin, as well as “vaginal abrasions, lacerations and bruises,” according to court documents.
But Kelley later denied sexually assaulting the teen when FBI agents visited him at Wingate University in North Carolina, where he was a redshirt running back for the football team.
Jalen Thomas Kelley, 22, of Abingdon, Maryland, was found guilty of raping a teenager aboard a cruise ship while celebrating the holidays with her family
Prosecutors said he invited a 17-year-old boy back to his cabin on the Carnival Legend (pictured) after a New Year’s Eve party to let her use the bathroom, then pushed her onto the bed “face first” and raped her .
Instead, he claimed that he and the girl kissed and touched each other outside his room before he let her use the bathroom.
Kelley also said he thought she was under the influence at the time.
“Kelly saw that [she] was drunk (by her own admission), realized she was vulnerable and offered to take her to the restroom,” court documents allege.
He “took full advantage of the situation,” prosecutors argued.
The former college athlete was subsequently arrested in Wingate on September 20, 2023, according to the school newspaper reported at the time.
As news of his arrest spread, another student alleged that Kelley had also raped her, The State reported.
There was an outstanding warrant for his arrest in connection with that case in November 2023, but it is unclear if he was ever arrested in that case.
Still, prosecutors alleged in court documents that “Kelley has an alarming history of sexual assault allegations by men and women, from early 2017 through September 2023.”
They even appealed to six people who had accused Kelley of sexually assaulting them on separate occasions, noting that he had been convicted as a minor in a sexual assault case in 2019.
Kelley now faces up to life in prison on federal charges.