Where Are You Safe Abroad?
A woman is sharing her story after she said she was drugged and sexually assaulted while vacationing in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic in January 2023.
News Center 7 typically doesn’t identify victims of sexual assault, but Angie Jackson wanted to warn others about her experience. Some of the details can be disturbing.
It seemed like a perfect vacation as Jackson was enjoying her time in the Dominican Republic. “I love all-inclusive resorts. I love just hanging out by the pool and the beach.”
Then one night, her friend went to bed early. Jackson said she stayed downstairs to watch the entertainment.
“I had a glass of wine. They would come and wait on you and bring it from the bar,” Jackson said. “And, that last show is the last thing I remember. The next thing I remember was landing on the ground from a car.”
Jolted awake when her knees hit the pavement, Jackson said she was dumped in an alley behind the hotel.
“Starting to cry, make dress was soaked with blood,” she said. She was rushed to a local hospital.
“I was told by them that I had been brutally raped with either metal or glass,” Jackson said. She then asked for the police who did not show up until the next day and did not speak English. She said they stayed 10 minutes and did not take any notes.
Her body started swelling and the doctor told her she might not survive. “And, I said I just can’t be here. I can’t. I can’t die here. And I just want to get back to my kids so bad,” Jackson said.
That’s when she said they started pressing her for money.
“He said that I needed to do more transfusions, but that every transfusion was $1,000. And I’d already burned up $8,000. And, that I needed to pay that before I could get any more. I said I don’t have $8,000 cash just laying around. I’m a single mom,” Jackson said.
She drained her kid’s college fund and borrowed money from relatives and friends to pay the bill. Then despite the doctor’s warning that her life was still at risk, she boarded the next flight anxious to get home.
After getting back home to the U.S. and talking to officials at the U.S. Embassy, she was pointed to a travel alert for tourists about the Dominican Republic., which has a threat level 2.
The threat level warns that rapes and sexual assaults have been reported throughout the Dominican Republic, including at major resorts and hotels.
U.S. citizens have been targeted with date rape drugs.
It also warns of the country’s weak criminal justice system. Now. Angie plans to constantly tell people to be cautious.
“Just always watch where you’re at,” said she. “They have online websites that will show you what the threat level is of different countries. If it’s two or higher, don’t go there. It’s not worth it.”
News Center 7 is not naming the result where Jackson was staying because according to the State Department’s warning, crimes like this are widespread and not isolated to one hotel.
State Department officials said they are aware of Jackson’s case.
