Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson, Kentucky moms sexually assaulted during dream Bahamas getaway as the two women seek to warn other travelers and attain justice.
Two Kentucky mothers are warning travellers after saying they were sexually assaulted during a recent trip to the Bahamas. in what was meant to be a ‘dream vacation.’
Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson, say they were both raped during the last day of a four-day trip with Carnival Cruises when their boat docked at Freeport in Grand Bahama on Sunday.
The claims follow the U.S State Department issuing travel warnings to the Caribbean getaway given a recent spike in violence, including armed robberies and sexual assault on the island.
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Approached by two male resort workers
The alleged attacks took place during a beach excursion to Pirate’s Cove according to the two women who had travelled together on their ‘first kid free vacation’.
‘We were targeted from the moment we were spotted,’ Dobson told the dailymail
‘We just decided to spend the day on the beach,’ Dobson said. ‘There were other people from the cruise on the beach so there weren’t red flags for us.’
Carnival advertises the resort on its website claiming: ‘The experienced, hospitable, and cordial staff will ensure you have a memorable visit’.
When the two women arrived at the beach, they were approached by two staff members at a local resort offering them drinks.
‘They said if you buy one we’ll give you one for free, and we thought, well why not we’re on vacation.’
‘We were forced to show where our rapes took place and to face the men whom raped us,’
Within 15 minutes the pair were barely able to stand as they were led away under the influence of cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines and sexually assaulted.
The women also have bruising up and down their legs.
‘I remember waking up and getting pushed down,’ Dobson said.
‘I woke up in the resort bathroom and there were people all around, and I just felt dirtiness on my legs, and I knew what had happened.
‘They told us we had been throwing up which is a good thing because the drugs would have killed us.’
But their nightmare was just starting after the Royal Bahamian Police were called to the scene according to the two women.
The women were denied rape kits and forced to confront the men accused of raping them.
‘We were treated as criminals and refused rape kits after asking repeatedly,’ Shearer told LEX18.
‘We were forced to show where our rapes took place and to face the men whom raped us,’ she added.
‘There was an American FNP (family nurse practitioner) who tried to stay with us and was refused that right.
‘We were told if we went to a Bahamian hospital they wouldn’t help us return to the US.’
‘We want justice for what happened to us. We want to raise awareness for others,’
A press release shared to Facebook by Royal Bahamas Police confirmed two men were arrested early Sunday for alleged sexual assault of two women, and that an investigation is underway.
Police arrested a 54-year-old man from Eight Mile Rock and a 40-year-old from South Bahama after resort staff showed them security footage of the women being led away.
Police have not named the suspects but local reports suggest one is connected to a powerful figure on the islands who is leveraging his influence to secure his brother’s release.
Blood tests revealed the cocktail of drugs given to the two women, but no alcohol.
Carnival offered counselling but the friends were keen to get back to their families as soon as possible and flew back into Kentucky on Monday night.
‘Even when you think you’re being safe and doing the right thing, you’re not safe,’ Dobson said.
‘We want justice for what happened to us. We want to raise awareness for others,’ Shearer wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
Both women are now spending $4,000 on anti-HIV medication as a precaution and waiting for an update from the Bahamian police.
‘We want our story to be heard,’ Shearer said.
‘Amber is about as good as I am,’ Dobson said.
‘We break down at different times so it’s nice to have each other to lean on.’
The two women are now looking for legal representation to take action against the resort and the men responsible. They are also upset with Carnival Cruise Lines for ‘failing to warn’ them off the recent travel advisory to the Bahamas until after their assault.
Carnival Cruise Lines and the Pirate Cove resort to date have declined media overtures for comment.
