U.S. Ambassador in DR says battered tourist in Punta Cana is an isolated event
The ambassador of the United States in the Dominican Republic, Robin Bernstein, affirmed that the aggression suffered by a tourist in a Punta Cana hotel “is a very punctual and isolated event,” according to statistics.
“There are 2.7 million Americans coming to the Dominican Republic and the statistics point out that this is a very punctual and an isolated event”, said the diplomat after participating in a luncheon organized by the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP), who celebrated their 56th anniversary.
When responding to questions from the press about the event in which Tammy Lawrence Daley was battered, which has recently come up, the diplomat said that “our heart is with the families of the victims”, and emphasized that “unfortunately, sometimes that kind of thing happens.”
Bernstein, who was appointed as the United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic by President Donald J. Trump, and sworn-in on July 3rd, 2018, said that “the first mission of our embassy is to worry about the safety of all Americans” who live and work here, or who come to visit Dominican beaches and culture.”
In respect to the event, she stated that “normally we can not and should not comment on these situations that are under investigation”, as in this case, in which there are discrepancies between the victim’s version and the statements made by the authorities in the country.
The aggression against Lawrence Daley occurred on January 29th, although they were made public at the end of May after the story was collected by U.S. media and broadcasted in local media, which published photos of the battered face of the woman.
What happened to Tammy Lawrence Daley
According to Lawrence Daley, on the night of January 29, 2019 “she was trapped in one of the corridors of the hotel where she was staying”, according to a statement from the Dominican Public Ministry.
Once they held her in the back, she claims, they covered her mouth and entered a room, where she was beaten.
However, she states not remembering any more details of the event, although the aggressor “was of moderately dark skin and wearing a uniform similar to those worn by maintenance workers” of the tourist complex.
The Dominican Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that, based on this preliminary information, an investigation was initiated into what happened, including, in addition to interviewing the victim, the referral of the medical examiner from a Punta Cana medical facility to evaluate it, whose examination revealed that the woman did not suffer sexual assault.
It also has an internal incident report made at the hotel, for which inspection of the place was made, fingerprints were collected, and several interviews were made with the employees present at the establishment the night of the event.
Also, an advanced test was made to Lawrence Daley before leaving the country, since, according to the authorities, and contrary to what the victim and her husband say, she did not want to file the complaint or undergo the rigorous psychological evaluations specified to these types of cases.