Two SoCal men were arrested aboard a gay cruise ship docked in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica after someone on shore saw them allegedly having sex in their cabin and complained.

"Buggery" -- sodomy in American English -- is against the law in Dominica.

The formal charge against Dennis Jay Mayer and John Robert Hart was "indecent exposure" -- a crime that carries a potential six month jail sentence. The two men pleaded guilty, though they disputed the claim that they were having sex.

"We were naked on the balcony but we were not having sex," Mayer told the court. They nonetheless apologized. "We are sorry for what happened, we regret the incident and humbly apologize to the people of Dominica," said Hart.

Their attorney, Bernadette Lambert, defended the 40-somethings against the Chief Magistrate's accusations of being "rouges and vagabonds."

"They were struck by the beautiful mountains, clear fresh water and beauty of the island and they also had a few cocktails and so threw caution to the wind," said Lambert. "They came here for a good time and did not mean to offend the laws of the country."

Sentencing came swiftly: A EC$2,400 (~US$890) fine and two months in jail. Luckily, they were able to avoid spending time behind bars by paying their fine right away.

Their ship is scheduled to leave Dominica today.

[cbsla / dominicanews / photo: thedominican.]