Staten Island woman says she was drugged, raped and 'thrown off second-floor balcony' by couple in Dominican Republic
A woman was allegedly raped, drugged and thrown off a second story balcony in the Dominican Republic.
The woman from Staten Island, who chose to remain anonymous, told ABC 7 that her holiday had turned into tragedy after she had let her "guard down."
The incident, that is said to have happened in June, left her with a damaged spine, heavy bruising, internal trauma, and other injuries after she was brutally raped, she said.
The woman had gone on a vacation to Ocean Blue and Sand in Punta Cana. The incident occurred after she met another couple at the resort and they started chatting over drinks. She says she was drugged as "things were starting to get blurry".
"I kind of heard buzzing in my ears, like ringing, and that's when everything started to fade," the woman said.
She claims that she was then taken to a room against her will and her pants were "forced off".
She said that the man she had had drinks with was 28 years old and that he had grabbed her and taken her. She was unable to talk at this point and had lost all energy, she said.
Police reports say that 911 was called after someone saw a person fall from the balcony half naked.
She also said that doctors denied her a rape kit.
However, the police arrested the couple after they came to the conclusion of rape after looking at her bruising.
It was the female that had thrown her off the balcony, police statements said.
She had become angry after seeing the victim in bed with the man, who was her boyfriend.
The couple has been charged with sexual assault, attempted murder, violence against women and robbery.
"People go on vacation," she said. "They put their guard down half of the time. They are trying to relax, but I want people to know, you can't have your guard down. You always have to be careful. It could happen at any time. This didn't happen at night time. This happened in broad day."
The couple, however, has been granted bail after a judge said that the victim had not been present at the hearing and that she had left the country without permission.
"They caught the people, and they let them out. How do you do that?" the alleged victim said. "That's what pisses me off the most, is that I know who did it and they might walk free."
The police department in Punta Cana, the prosecutor's office, as well as The Ocean Blue and Sand, did not comment on the case.
The Dominican Republic was recently in the news after the mysterious deaths of 13 tourists on the island.