Two mothers from Kentucky are talking out after they had been allegedly drugged and raped within the Bahamas Sunday after the US issued a journey warning for the holiday hotspot.
Longtime mates Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson mentioned their first kid-free trip ended with a traumatic, broad-daylight assault after they determined to go to the seashore after the Carnival cruise ship they had been on docked on the island nation.
Now they’re warning different girls. The mothers had been stress-free on a Grand Bahama seashore when a resort staffer supplied them a two-for-one drink deal, they instructed NewsNation.
They accepted and took pictures with the tropical drinks — one in a pineapple and the opposite in a coconut.
However they quickly felt just like the drinks had been a lot stronger than anticipated. Even their family members again house grew involved when the ladies despatched again movies the place they appeared to be extremely intoxicated simply quarter-hour after their first sips, Dobson instructed the station.
“Lower than a number of [sips] into the second drink, we knew one thing was incorrect. One thing was terribly incorrect,” Shearer mentioned.
They went to search for seashells to deliver again to their youngsters when a male resort staffer supplied to indicate them the very best spot to seek out shells.
However the subsequent factor Shearer might recall was waking up whereas she was being assaulted by a uniformed male resort staffer.
“I got here to within the technique of my rape,” she instructed NewsNation, breaking down.
Bahamian authorities and different staffers on the resort had been in a position to instantly establish the 2 males accused of the 12 p.m. assault by surveillance footage. One of many attackers had solely been employed by the resort for a few week, in response to Shearer.
Royal Bahamas police arrested two males, a 40-year-old of South Bahamia and a 54-year-old of Eight Mile Rock, in connection to the sexual assault, the division mentioned in a information launch.
Police are persevering with to analyze however the girls say their allegations weren’t correctly dealt with and that the native cops didn’t administer correct rape take a look at kits regardless of their pleas.
Again on the cruise ship, the mothers acquired the outcomes of their toxicology assessments — which confirmed that they had a plethora of medication of their methods, together with benzodiazepines. In addition they had virtually no alcohol of their our bodies and bruising up and down their legs, Kentucky NBC affiliate station Lex18 reported.
“To see the issues that confirmed up on my [toxicology] display screen was simply traumatizing over again,” Dobson mentioned.
Journey advisories issued for the Bahamas, Jamaica
- The US embassy issued a stark safety warning and journey advisory on Jan. 24 after the Bahamas noticed 18 primarily gang-related murders in January.
- The US embassy warning urged vacationers to “train excessive warning” on the japanese aspect of the Bahamas’ capital metropolis of Nassau.
- Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis mentioned in an announcement the federal government is “alert, attentive, and proactive” in conserving the island nation “welcoming” to vacationers.
- The State Division issued a stark journey warning for Jamaica after it was rocked by 65 murders final month. The US Embassy in Jamaica upgraded the journey advisory to a Degree 3, “Rethink journey,” which is only one degree in need of probably the most extreme, which warns Individuals towards journey altogether.
- Now, the Bahamian and Jamaican tourism boards are insisting the nations are nonetheless protected for vacationers regardless of the USA’ warnings .
Now again in Kentucky, the ladies have employed a lawyer to get justice and are receiving medical care — together with $4,000 HIV prevention treatment, in response to the native station.
The moms are additionally offended with Carnival — which they are saying failed to inform them in regards to the US State Division journey advisory for the Bahamas till after their horrific assault.
The state division issued a degree 2 advisory on Jan. 26, simply over per week earlier than the 2 American girls had been allegedly raped. The advisory advises US vacationers to “train elevated warning” when visiting the Bahamas as a result of crime and gang-on-gang violence which have resulted in 18 murders in January alone.
5 days earlier than the mothers had been assaulted, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis insisted that the nation was a “protected” vacation spot for vacationers.
“The incidents described within the January 2024 US Embassy crime alert don’t replicate basic security in The Bahamas, a rustic of sixteen (16) tourism locations, and lots of extra islands,” he mentioned.
The Publish has reached out to Carnival Cruises for remark.