Two women who say they were drugged and raped by staff at Bahamas resort during cruise slam Carnival for NOT informing them of State Department warning against visiting
Two Kentucky women who allege they were drugged and raped by staff at a Bahamas resort have accused Carnival Cruises of failing to alert them to a State Department warning not to visit the country.
Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson, both 31-year-old mothers, say they were attacked on the last day of their four-day cruise after the ship docked in Freeport in Grand Bahama on Sunday.
“You need to be aware because our cruise line has not notified us of a travel advisory,” Shearer told NewsNation on Wednesday. “We had no idea what was going on in the Bahamas, nothing at all.
“I just want people to be safe. Dongayla and I have been best friends together for twenty years. We thought we could protect each other and be safe, but that’s not enough.”
The US State Department issued two travel warnings for the country in late January, advising “extreme caution” after a spate of murders and assaults in daylight. Despite the warning, the boat still docked at the Caribbean country.
Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson boarded Carnival cruises for failing to inform them of a State Department warning about traveling to the Bahamas after they were allegedly drugged and raped during their trip.
The US State Department issued two travel warnings for the country in late January, advising “extreme caution” after a spate of murders and assaults in daylight.
The women say they were on an excursion to the Pirate Cove Resort when the attacks occurred
“One of the specific problems with Carnival in this case is that they have a legal duty to warn of dangerous conditions that they should have been aware of,” said women’s attorney Nicholas Gerson.
“There is a federal law, the Cruise Chip Vessel Safety and Security Act 2010, that requires victims of crimes on the high seas to offer them contact with the FBI, but none of that was offered.
‘Carnival actually puts this excursion on the website, they actually benefit from the excursion. Carnival should have warned our customers, the warning should not have come from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.’
The women say they were on a field trip to Pirate’s Cove Resort, where they were
“We thought the drinks were very strong, but Dongayla and I are gastric surgery patients, so we don’t really drink much,” Shearer explained. “Not even a few drinks after the second drink, we knew something was terribly wrong.”
“We’ve been taking videos on our phones 15 minutes between when we first started drinking and 15 minutes later, and our family and friends are sending us messages concerned about us, like you’re sure you only have one drink drunk? Are you sure, are you guys okay?’ Gibson added.
Carnival advertises the resort on its website, claiming, “The experienced, hospitable and warm-hearted staff will ensure you have a memorable visit.”
The men then told the women they could help them find shells for their children at home and led them away.
The women say they were handed drinks laced with drugs at the Pirate’s Cove resort. They started feeling strange and said that when they woke up they were covered in cuts and bruises
Security footage from the resort shows that the pair could barely stand within 15 minutes of receiving the drinks
The mothers enjoyed their first child-free holiday together, but on the final day things took a dark turn
Lawyers for the women said Carnival has a fiduciary duty to customers to warn them of potentially dangerous travel conditions
“We’re kind of feeling it now, so we want to get out of the ocean, we’re going to look for shells for our kids,” Dobson said.
“This staffer’s husband who was there said I know where a lot of these are.”
“The man who raped me was the one who told us where to go to collect the grenades,” Shearer added.
Security footage from the resort shows that within 15 minutes of receiving the drinks, the pair were barely able to stand as they were led away under the influence of cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines.
The women said toxicology reports showed a cocktail of drugs in their systems, but no alcohol. Dobson said seeing the results “retraumatized” her, while Shearer added that the two were then treated “like drug addicts.”
“I remember waking up and being pushed down,” Dobson told DailyMail.com.
“I woke up in the bathroom at the resort and there were people everywhere, and I just felt dirt on my legs, and I knew what had happened.
“They told us to throw up, which is a good thing because the drugs would have killed us.”
A tearful Shearer also described how she “came around” during her rape trial, saying the man she believes responsible had not worked at the resort in a week, according to other employees.
‘We were just aware enough to know they were wearing uniforms and knew what area we had been in. Resort security was able to obtain images at the scene and identify that there were three men. One where we had to look at the grenades, and there were already two of them,” Dobson added.
The women claim their ordeal only got worse when Bahamian police showed up and refused to give them rape kits.
“We were treated like criminals and refused rape kits after repeatedly asking for them,” Shearer said.
“We were forced to reveal where our rapes took place and face the men who raped us,” she added.
The couple’s last memory was having drinks (pictured) on the beach before walking to the resort bathroom with bruises on their legs
The women say their ordeal was only made worse by the arrival of Bahamian police, who they say minimized their attacks and refused to give them rape kits.
The four-day Carnival cruise on the Carnival Elation visited Nassau and Grand Bahama
Pirate’s Cove Zipline and Waterpark is Grand Bahama’s first adventure theme park
‘There was an American FNP (family nurse practitioner) who tried to stay with us and was denied that right.
“We were told that if we went to a Bahamian hospital, they would not help us get back to the U.S.”
The women claimed they were taken to a toilet and ‘forced to urinate’ and ‘wipe away the evidence’.
“They had us replace our one-piece swimsuits with our swimsuit covers,” Dobson told News Nation.
“They told us that if we wanted justice and rape kits, we would have to go to the Bahamian hospital, but the US embassy had already refused to help us, so we would be on our own and have to pay for the restitution ourselves. But we had no passports.
“I spoke to the US Embassy today and they never contacted them.”
Police arrested a 54-year-old man from Eight Mile Rock and a 40-year-old from South Bahamas after resort staff showed them security footage of the women being led away.
Police have not named the suspects, but local reports suggest someone is linked to a powerful figure on the islands who is using his influence to secure his brother’s release.
Dailymail.com received an anonymous call stressing that the investigation is in its early stages and urging claims of political involvement to be reported.
The company offered help, but the friends wanted to return to their families as quickly as possible and flew back to Kentucky on Monday evening.
Dailymail.com has contacted Carnival and Pirate’s Cove for comment.