top of page
gamefaceent212

Kentucky moms survive Bahamas drugging, sexual assaults after cruise stops at resort

The Bahamas beach resort where two Kentucky moms say they were drugged and raped has claimed their version of events does not add up.

Dongayla Dobson and Amber Shearer, both 31, say they were attacked by uniformed staff on February 4 at Pirate's Cove beach resort on Grand Bahama, during an excursion from their Carnival Cruises ship. 


They claim the men gave them spiked cocktails then attacked them after leading them away to collect seashells.


Two men were arrested but Bahamian police are yet to reveal their identities.

The women say the incident was caught on surveillance camera footage that they viewed - along with police - before returning to the ship.

But in a statement today, Pirate Cove says the video does not support their story.

'Upon further review of the surveillance videos, the allegations made onsite, and in subsequent social media posts and news stories, conflict with what the time-stamped surveillance videos contain,' Pirate's Cove beach resort said in a statement.


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 said in a statement.


Dobson told Dailymail.com they saw Carnival's adverts for Pirate's Cove and on the final day of the four-day cruise and went for it.

'There were other people from the cruise on the beach so there weren't red flags for us,' she added.

Carnival advertises the resort on its website claiming: 'The experienced, hospitable, and cordial staff will ensure you have a memorable visit'.

When they arrived, they say they were approached by two men who they thought to be resort hospitality offering them drinks.


We thought the drinks were really strong but Dongayla and I are gastric sleeve patients so we don't really drink much,' Shearer explained.

'Less than a few drinks into the second drink we knew something was terribly wrong.'

In videos that they sent to their families, they say their deterioration is clear.

'We have videos taken on our phones 15 minutes between when we first go the drink and 15 minutes later and our family and friends are messaging us concerned about us like are you sure you only had one drink? Are you sure, are you guys okay?' Gibson added.

They say the two men offered to help them find shells to take home to their children and led them away from where they'd been sitting on the beach.

'The guy this staff worker that was there said I know where tons of these are.'

From there, they say their memory becomes hazy.



I remember waking up and getting pushed down,' Dobson told DailyMail.com.

Slipping in and out of consciousness, they say they noticed the two men were in uniform.

'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.'

The women claim their ordeal only worsened when Bahamian police showed up, claiming they refused to give them rape kits despite repeated requests.

'We were treated as criminals and refused rape kits after asking repeatedly. We were forced to show where our rapes took place and to face the men who raped us,' Shearer said.

'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.'

The women claimed they were taken to a bathroom, 'forced to urinate' and 'wipe away the evidence'.

'They had us change out of the one-piece swimsuits and into our swimsuit covers,' Dobson told NewsNation.

'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.

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


It was only back on the boat that they were given a rape kit test.

They also say an on-ship toxicology report revealed they had cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines in their system.

There was no alcohol in their system, they said, suggesting the 'cocktails' they thought they were drinking were in fact booze-free mixes of drugs instead.

The State Department is yet to comment on the women's ordeal.

But the Royal Bahamian Police hit back on Wednesday night, insisting that they treat all sexual assaults 'with the highest level of professionalism, privacy and sensitivity'.

Emergency Medical Services offered medical assistance to the victims, which they declined, signing a waiver and then leaving for their cruise ship in a private vehicle.

'Recognizing the gravity of the incident, our officers boarded the cruise ship, providing a sexual assault kit and hospital form to the ship's medical doctor and obtained signed statements from the victims.'

The police said they were now working with the FBI on the case and had appointed Woman Assistant Commissioner of Police, Shanta Knowles, to 'personally ensure that the investigation is conducted with the utmost level of professionalism and care.'

Dailymail.com managed to get through to Assistant Commissioner Knowles who said 'can you call me back?' before immediately hanging up the phone. Subsequent calls went unanswered.


We had no idea what was going on in the Bahamas, none whatsoever,' they told NewsNation's Cuomo on Wednesday.

'We were targeted from the moment we were spotted,' said Dobson.

'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,' the women's attorney, Nicholas Gerson, told NewsNation.

25 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


Post: Blog2_Post
bottom of page