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Two resort staffers were arrested in the Bahamas after a pair of American women on vacation said they were drugged and assaulted, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Amber Sherer and Dongayla Dobson went on vacation without their kids for the first time earlier this month, taking a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas. On the last day of their trip, the cruise stopped on Grand Bahama Island and the two women went to a resort that was recommended by the cruise company, the women said.
Sherer and Dobson said resort staff offered them a two-for-one drink — which they accepted — and almost immediately began feeling ill.
“After the first drink, we had to get out of the ocean, because we noticed that it was just hitting so hard. I just felt so out of it,” Dobson said in an interview that aired Thursday on “Good Morning America.”
The two women said they lost consciousness and were assaulted by two resort staff members. The two mothers said they had bruises on their legs and tested positive for various drugs.
“I vaguely remember glimpses of his face. I don’t remember all of it,” Dobson said. “I don’t remember everything, but I remembered enough of that — he was a staff worker, and he had a goatee, and he was a local — that the resort security was able to pull the footage and identify them right then and there.”
The Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement that they “recognize the seriousness of such matters and handle them with the highest level of professionalism, privacy and sensitivity.”
Police said preliminary reports indicate that the incident occurred on Feb. 4, shortly after noon at a Central Grand Bahama beach. Police began their investigation upon learning of the incident and arrested two men — a 54-year-old man from Eight Mile Rock and a 40-year-old man from South Bahamia.
Officers later boarded the ship and provided a sexual assault kit, hospital form from the ship’s medical doctor and obtained the women’s statements, police said.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force is working with the FBI on the investigation.
“Through the FBI’s Legal Attaché office in Nassau, we have strong, established relationships and stand ready to assist in any way the Bahamian government may request. We refer you to Royal Bahamas Police Force, which is leading the investigation, for any comment on this matter,” the FBI said in a statement.
Carnival Cruises said in a statement that they are providing their full cooperation to authorities.
“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 told ABC News in a statement. “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 U.S. State Department issued a Level 2 travel advisory for the Bahamas in January, warning that there has been an increase in homicides and sexual violence.
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