The U.S. Embassy has warned women visiting The Bahamas about a number of incidents in which jet ski operators have allegedly raped tourists.
According to the Embassy, jet ski operators in Nassau have allegedly raped and sexually assaulted multiple American women. Two of those women were attacked during the last month, and three women were assaulted last year by people tied to jet ski rentals.
“Women victims reported that male jet ski operators picked them up from downtown Nassau and Paradise Island beaches. This includes the area from Junkanoo Beach to Saunders Beach and Cabbage Beach,” the U.S. Embassy said. “The victims said they were raped and assaulted on isolated islands near New Providence.”
Shortly after the Embassy released its guidance, charges were brought against another jet ski operator who allegedly raped a 23-year-old American woman near Junkanoo Beach last week, according to Tribune 242, a local newspaper.
In that incident, the woman was traveling to the islands with Carnival Cruise Lines.
According to the paper, local police have been accused of not publicly disclosing the rapes in their incident reports.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles pushed back on the allegations, insisting that the Royal Bahamas Police Force do not “hold information back from the public.”
When asked why information about one of the rapes wasn’t included in incident reports, Knowles said the assault wasn’t reported to them until after the victim left the country.
“I cannot say why it was not in the crime report, but what I can say to you is that the matter was not initially reported right after the incident occurred,” Knowles said. “We know that the victim had left the country, well had left this island and was at another cruise port in The Bahamas, and we were able to catch up with that person and take the report.”
In addition to the sexual assaults, Americans have also been injured in jet ski wrecks in the New Providence and Paradise islands area.
Since August, four Americans have been “hospitalized with injuries from jet skis,” including two who “needed emergency evacuations to the United States due to their injuries.”
The federal government has banned its workers from renting jet skis near the islands.
“Due to security risks, U.S. government employees working in The Bahamas are prohibited from renting and using jet skis on New Providence and Paradise islands,” the Embassy said in a statement.
The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 2 Travel Advisory for The Bahamas as well as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Netherlands Antilles and Turks and Caicos. The alert warns tourists to be “aware of heightened risks to safety and security.”
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