Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

U.S. News

Kentucky Women ‘Drugged and Raped’ In Bahamas

via NewsNation
This article was originally published at StateOfUnion.org. Publications approved for syndication have permission to republish this article, such as Microsoft News, Yahoo News, Newsbreak, UltimateNewswire and others. To learn more about syndication opportunities, visit About Us.

Two women allege they were drugged and raped in Grand Bahama after a Carnival cruise.

They criticized the company for not informing them about US State Department warnings regarding the area.

“You need to be aware because our cruise line did not make us aware of a travel advisory,” Amber Shearer said.

The State Department had issued alerts for The Bahamas, advising “extreme caution” due to sexual assaults and murders.

“We had no idea what was going on in the Bahamas, none whatsoever.”

“I just want people to be safe. Dongayla and I, we’ve been together for two decades as best friends. We thought we could protect each other and be safe and it’s not enough,” she said.

The women’s attorney argued that Carnival had a legal duty to inform them and offer support.

“One of the issues with Carnival specifically in this case is they have a legal duty to warn about dangerous conditions they should have known about,” attorney Nicholas Gerson said.

“There is a federal statue the Cruise Chip Vessel Safety and Security Act 2010 that requires victims of crime at high seas they are supposed to offer them contact with the FBI. None of that was offered.”

“Carnival actually markets this particular excursion on their website, they actually profit from the excursion. So Carnival should have warned our clients, the warning shouldn’t have come from the State Department,” he said.

“While ashore in Freeport, Bahamas on an independent shore excursion, two guests on Carnival Elation reported to Bahamian police that they were sexually assaulted at a local beach,” Carnival Cruises’ spokesperson stated.

“Our onboard Care Team provided support for the two guests as they sailed back to Jacksonville. Bahamian police are investigating the matter and Carnival is providing our full cooperation.”

The women reported feeling ill after two drinks and later discovered they had been drugged.

“We thought the drinks were really strong but Dongayla and I are gastric sleeve patients so we don’t really drink much. Less than a few drinks into the second drink we knew something was terribly wrong,” Shearer said.

Bahamian police allegedly refused to provide rape kits and assistance, leading to a challenging situation for the victims.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

“We were just conscious enough to know they were in uniforms and to know the area we went to and the resort security was able to pull up footage then and there and identify that there were three guys,” Dongayla Dobson said.

“One that took us to look at the shells and there were two that were over there already.”

“They told us that if we wanted any justice, any rape kits, we would have to go to the Bahamian hospital however the US Embassy had already refused to help us so we would be on our own and would have to pay our own way back. But we didn’t have passports,” Dobson added.

“I talked to the US Embassy today and they never contacted them at all.”

Read Also:

Trump Reveals 2 Names For His Final VP Pick

Biden Commits Another Gaffe Amid Mounting Criticism

You May Also Like

Trending