This article mentions sexual assault. Please read with caution.
The trip of a lifetime turned into a nightmare for Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson, two Kentucky women who allege they were drugged and then sexually assaulted at a Carnival Cruise stopover at a Bahamas resort on Sunday, February 4.
In a social media post, Shearer and Dobson explained when their Carnival Cruis boat docked in Freeport, in the Bahamas, they took a taxi to a local resort called Pirate’s Cove. While there, they said they were offered two rounds of drinks from the staff. After drinking the first drink, they said they were fine, but after a few sips of the second round, they said they lost consciousness and woke up while two men were sexually assaulting them, WKNY.com reported.
Once she realized what was happening, Shearer said, “I ran, I was screaming for Dongayla … I was like, ‘Dongayla, we’ve got to go get help,’” Shearer said. Dobson added, “We were just conscious enough to have, or just aware enough, to know that they were in uniforms.”
Bahamian police ignored them, the women allege
After the assault, Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson said they went to the Bahamian police, but they were largely ignored, and no official rape kits were administered. Meanwhile, their toxicology report revealed benzodiazepines and other drugs in their system, with visible bruising on their bodies. Shearer and Dobson said they received better medical care once they returned to the cruise ship, Lex18.com reported.
Referring to allegations of Bahamian police misconduct, Shearer said, “We were treated as if we were nothing.” Dobson added, “To see the things that showed up on my [toxicology] screen was just traumatizing all over again.”
A nurse speaks, and the resort responds
Lex18.com reports that a nurse from Arkansas named Ladonna Batty was on the cruise with Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson, and Batty was nearby when the two women escaped their attackers. Batty said she immediately began documenting what happened, and described Dobson and Shearer’s condition as “horrific.”
Batty said,
“Out of my 20-odd years of practicing, it was the worst scene that I had ever had to work. It was a horrible situation for both girls … Anybody should be able to go on vacation and have a drink or have a Coca-Cola and take some pictures and not get brutally assaulted.”
via Lex18.com
Bahamian police had said two men were arrested on Sunday in connection with Shearer and Dobson’s accusations, and the Pirate’s Cove resort said they are cooperating with the investigation. Security footage does, however, conflict with the two women’s version of events, the resort added.
News of Shearer and Dobson’s alleged assault comes amid a Level 2 U.S. State Department travel advisory for the Bahamas, of which the two Kentucky moms said they were not aware when they booked their trip.
After returning to Kentucky, where both friends continue to receive medical care, Shearer wrote in a Facebook post, “We want justice for what happened to us. We want to raise awareness for others.”
“It was like a dream vacation until it wasn’t. Then it’s like a nightmare we can’t wake up from,” Dobson added.
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.