A veteran nurse who treated a Kentucky mother who claimed two Bahamian resort staff drugged and raped her while on vacation said it was the “worst workplace” she had ever worked in.
LaDonna Batty, a family nurse from Arkansas, was a passenger on the same Carnival cruise that Amber Shearer and Dongueira Dobson were on when the ship docked on Grand Bahama Island earlier this month.
“In my 20-odd years of practice, this was the worst scene I’ve ever had to work in. It was a horrible situation for both girls.” Batty told LEX 18. “The worst thing I’ve ever seen. They were in terrible misery.”
The mothers, who wanted to spend a day at the beach and take photos, visited Pirates Cove Resort when a male staff member allegedly offered them a two-for-one deal on tropical drinks.
But the drink was stronger than expected and the two women were severely intoxicated 15 minutes after taking their first sips, Dobson said. he told NewsNation’s “Cuomo.”
A second resort employee allegedly lured the women to a secluded area and eventually led them, disabled, to the location where they were assaulted.
Batty was present, but another staff member found Shearer and Dobson unconscious in the bathroom and went into nurse mode.
“I took out my phone and immediately started graphing everything and recording everything I saw,” Baty told the outlet.
The nurse noticed something was wrong with the women, claiming that the two were having “difficulty forming sentences.”
“It was a terrible scene.” Batty told Inside Edition. “As a practitioner, I said, ‘Let’s document all of this and get all these details for the girls, because once they’re given the drug, they’re not going to remember some of it. ” I was thinking.
Mr Batty believes Mr Shearer and Mr Dobson were assaulted and it was not only under the influence of alcohol.
“It was horrible to see the girls in that condition,” Baty said. “Something happened to them that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.”
The women claim police did not handle their complaints properly, but said they were grateful when Bhatti arrived.
“I don’t know what would have happened if LaDonna hadn’t advocated for us,” Shearer said.
Upon returning to the ship, the mothers received the results of toxicology tests, which revealed that they had large amounts of drugs, including benzodiazepines, in their systems.
“Anyone should be able to go on holiday, drink alcohol, drink Coca-Cola, take pictures and not be brutally assaulted,” Bhatti added.
In a statement obtained by WLEX, the resort said the two staff members accused of assault were fired for violating its zero-tolerance policy by “associating with guests and engaging in dangerous behavior.”
Royal Bahamas Police have arrested two people in connection with sexual assault.
While Dobson and Shearer were on their cruise, the U.S. embassy in the Bahamas issued a Level 2 travel advisory following an increase in crime, including 18 murders during January.
The mothers were angry at the cruise company for not informing them of the advisory before disembarking the ship for their resort.
