The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said he expects full cooperation and honesty from all parties as police and the Federal Bureau of Investigations investigate a claim that two American women were sexually assaulted in Grand Bahama earlier this month.

Investigators, he said, “will insist on CCTV footage, and the resort seems to indicate they are providing it to the police. The cruise line participated by having their doctor do the rape kit when the young ladies refused to stay on island to do it. No doubt they’ll cooperate by handing over the rape kit to the police, and so, yes, everyone has a duty to cooperate with the investigation.”

Meanwhile, Ladonna Batty, reported to be a family nurse practitioner from Arkansas, was said to be on the same cruise as Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson, the two women who claim they were raped on a beach at Pirates Cove by two men who worked there.

 Ms Batty told a Kentucky news station, LEX18, that when she observed the women, she took out her phone and “immediately started charting everything, documenting everything I’d seen”.

 She said the women were in “horrible shambles”.

 “Out of my 20-odd years of practising, it was the worst scene that I had ever had to work on. It was a horrible situation for both girls.”

 She said she found the girls dishevelled, sick, and bruised. 

 She believed Ms Shearer and Ms Dobson had been assaulted and were under the influence of drugs.

 “Anybody should be able to go on vacation and have a drink or have a Coca-Cola or anything and take some pictures and not get brutally assaulted,” she said.

 Ms Shearer praised Ms Batty.

“She was our advocate,” she said. “Had it not been for Ladonna advocating for us, I don’t know what would have happened.”

 LEX18 also reported Ms Batty provided a statement to Carnival Cruise security.

 In a statement, the FBI told LEX18: “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 the Royal Bahamas Police Force, which is leading the investigation, for any comment on this matter.”