Two mothers from Kentucky are speaking out after they were allegedly drugged and raped in the Bahamas Sunday after the US issued a travel warning for the holiday hotspot.
Long-time friends Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson say their first child-free holiday ended in a traumatic daylight attack when they decided to go to the beach after the Carnival cruise they took on the island nation.
Now they are warning other women.
The mothers were relaxing on a Grand Bahama beach when a resort staff member offered them a two-for-one drink deal, they told NewsNation’s “Cuomo.”
They received and took pictures with tropical drinks – one in pineapple and the other in coconut.
But they soon felt like the drink was stronger than expected.
Amber Shearer (right) and Dongayla Dobson (left) said the drinks given by staff were stronger than expected. LEX 18
Even their loved ones at home grew concerned when the women retweeted the video showing them looking extremely drunk just 15 minutes after their first sip, Dobson told the station.
“Less than a few [sips] into the second drink, we knew something was wrong. Something is wrong,” said Shearer.
They went looking for seashells to take back to their children when a male resort staff member offered to show them the best place to find seashells.
The two loved ones at home were very worried when they posted a video where they looked very drunk from the drink. Amber Nicole Shearer / Instagram
But the next thing Shearer remembers is waking up as he is attacked by a male resort staff member in uniform.
“I came in the process of my rape,” she told NewsNation, despairing.
Bahamian authorities and other staff at the resort were able to quickly identify the two men accused of the midday attack through surveillance footage.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the attack. Facebook / Amber Nicole Shearer
One of the attackers had only worked at the resort for about a week, according to Shearer.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested two men, a 40-year-old South Bahamian and a 54-year-old Eight Mile Rock resident, in connection with the sexual assault, the department said in a news release.
Police continued to investigate, but the women said their allegations were mishandled and local police did not provide the proper rape test kits despite their pleas.
Authorities and staff at the resort located the two men accused of assaulting the woman through surveillance footage. Amber Nicole Shearer / Instagram
Back on the cruise ship, the mothers received the results of their toxicology tests – which showed they had many drugs in their systems, including benzodiazepines.
They also had almost no alcohol in their bodies and had bruises up and down their legs, Kentucky NBC affiliate station Lex18 reported.
“To see what appears to me [toxicology] the screen is just traumatized again,” Dobson said.
Travel advisories issued for Bahamas, Jamaica
- The US Embassy issued a strict security warning and travel advisory on January 24 after the Bahamas saw 18 gang-related murders in January.
- The US Embassy warning urges tourists to use “extreme caution” east of the Bahamas capital, Nassau.
- Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said in a statement that the government is “alert, concerned, and proactive” in ensuring the island nation “welcomes” tourists.
- The State Department issued a stern travel warning for Jamaica after it was rocked by 65 murders last month. The US Embassy in Jamaica upgraded its travel advisory to Level 3, “Reconsider travel,” which is just one level short of the worst, which warns Americans against traveling at all.
- Bahamian and Jamaican tourism boards insist the country is still safe for tourists despite the United States’ warnings.
Now back in Kentucky, the woman has hired a lawyer to seek justice and receive medical treatment — including $4,000 in HIV prevention drugs, according to a local station.
The mothers are also angry with Carnival – which they say failed to inform them of the US State Department’s travel advisory for the Bahamas until after their horrific attack.
The State Department issued a level 2 advisory on January 26, just over a week before the two American women were allegedly raped.
When Amber Shearer (left) and Dongayla Dobson (right) received their toxicology tests, they showed a lot of drugs and almost no alcohol in their bodies. Christopher C. Cuomo/X
The advisory advises US tourists to “increase vigilance” when visiting the Bahamas because of crime and gang violence that has resulted in 18 murders in January alone.
Five days before the mothers were attacked, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis insisted that the country was a “safe” destination for tourists.
“The incidents described in the US Embassy’s January 2024 crime alert do not reflect public safety in the Bahamas, a country with sixteen (16) tourist destinations, and many more islands,” he said.
Carnival said it was cooperating with Bahamian police in their investigation.
“While docked in Freeport, Bahamas on an independent shore excursion, two guests on the Carnival Elation reported to Bahamian police that they had been sexually assaulted on a local beach,” a spokesperson for the cruise line said in a statement to The Post.
“Our onboard Care team provided support for both guests as they sailed back to Jacksonville. The Bahamian police are investigating the matter and Carnival is giving us our full cooperation.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
