TOTO, I DON'T THINK WE'RE IN KANSAS ANYMORE

As an American, traveling outside of the country has always held some sort of inert danger, but in recent years, it has become more apparent that no one is safe when on vacation, and justice is usually never likely when something bad happens. We tend to “let down our hair” and throw caution to the wind because all the smiling foreign faces seem harmless and safe. We’ve all heard stories about vacationers being robbed, assaulted, even killed, yet it is still a popular belief that something like that would never happen to them.

How can we forget the infamous case of 18-year old Alabama native, Natalee Holloway, who went missing while on the island of Aruba in May, 2005, while celebrating her high school graduation with her fellow classmates? Let’s not forget about 24-year old Amy Bradley, who was last seen in March 1998 while vacationing with her family on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship after docking in Curacao, Netherland Antilles. Most recently in April 2007, Phylicia Moore, an 18-year old New Jersey native was with her high school class traveling to Ghana on a good-will mission when she was mysteriously found dead in her Ghana hotel pool with no witnesses, no clues, and no answers for her family.

When we leave our borders we are subject to the laws of the country we are staying in. For victims of crime, this can become a living nightmare due to lackadaisical laws, police corruption, blatant cover-ups, and lack of proper resources.

Rebecca Sinnott, a married 38-year-old North Carolina mother, thought she had hit the jackpot when her 19-year-old niece, Ashley won a vacation of a lifetime: A 5 day trip to Cancun, Mexico. Rebecca had never been out of the country, let alone on a plane. This was going to be the trip of her dreams…a trip to paradise. Little did she know it would be a rape in paradise.

When Rebecca’s niece, Ashley, won the trip to Cancun, she thought it would only be natural for her to join her as a chaperone. Since she had raised her niece, their family agreed it would be safer for Rebecca to accompany her, instead of Ashley taking a college friend. She would be the chaperone, the adult, the one in charge, the one that made sure Ashley would be safe from harm. Little did she know, she would be the prey, not her naïve 20-year old niece.

On May 6, 2007, Rebecca and Ashley flew towards their idyllic vacation spot of Cancun, Mexico, ready to take in the ocean air, the warm sun, and beauty. She was ready to relax and enjoy the opportunity for the vacation of a lifetime.

On their third night, Tuesday, May 8, 2007, Rebecca and Ashley decided to enjoy dinner and drinks on one of the many popular dinner/party cruises that Cancun offered. From approximately 7:00 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. they enjoyed their dinner, drinks, music, the beautiful boat, and the serenity of the ocean around them. The experience gave her a new vitality and when the cruise ended Rebecca and Ashley decided to check out some of the night clubs that were near their hotel.

At approximately 3:00 a.m., on Wednesday, May 9, 2007, Rebecca and Ashley walked back to their hotel after an enjoyable evening. As they walked along the streets breathing in the fresh and warm night air, they decided to stop at a convenience store which was next to their hotel. As they walked towards the store, two security guards befriended them. The security guards, “Carlos” and “Javier” offered them to accompany them at a table in front of the store, along the crowded street to relax and chat. To Rebecca, “Carlos” and “Javier” seemed to be friendly and nice locals, so they all chatted for approximately an hour about how much they were enjoying their vacation, how lovely Cancun was, even talking about their families, children and exchanging stories.

“Carlos” explained that he and the other man “Javier” were security guards for the empty night club behind them, “The Bulldog Café”. Rebecca was not familiar with the club, and “Carlos” offered to show her the inside telling her stories of how American bands such as “Guns-n-Roses” had previously played there.

At this time, Rebecca and Ashley mentioned that it was getting late and they were going to leave. Ashley told Rebecca to go ahead and look inside, and would meet in their room in a few minutes. They separated for what could have been the final time.

Rebecca recalls the next moments vividly, “I remember going into the club and looking around with “Carlos”…and up until this point, no warning, no hint, no flirting, no touching, nothing to make me think anything other than I had met a nice gentleman security guard in Cancun. After we came out of the club I remember saying ‘thank you’ and how nice it was to meet him, so when he offered to walk me to the hotel for my safety, I never thought anything of it. And when he said, ‘Here, let’s cut through the club, it comes out in the back of the lobby,’ I never doubted him. Once inside the club, we walked down a hallway and when I was in the back of the club, I remember coming to a locked door and asking him to unlock it.”

Rebecca continues her story, “I remember him saying, ‘Give me what I want and I’ll take you where you want to go!’ I remember him wailing on my head with his fist and saying ‘American Tourista’ and ‘you know you want it’. At one point I could clearly see his face standing in the doorway and he was smiling at me, while he backhanded me across the face and knocked me to the floor. I remember him tearing at my top; I remember pushing him and saying, ‘NO! Don’t do this!’ I remember grabbing his genitals and how his jeans tore at my fingernails as I tried desperately to hurt him enough to get him off me. I remember his face and his rage and his right hand coming at me and knocking me into a wall. Then I remember telling myself to lay still and act like I’m dead and maybe he’ll go away. I remember the colors of the walls; I remember the blood, so much blood.

The next thing Rebecca remembers is being in her hotel lobby and seeing her niece screaming and passing out at the sight of the blood and her appalling injuries. Rebecca started screaming, “Go get ‘Carlos’! He did this! Ashley knows where he is! Tell them! Go get him! Help me!” Little did Rebecca know through her swollen and bloody face all they could make out were moans.

The next 24 hours were a blur for Rebecca. Ashley recollects no one being able to speak English except for the ambulance driver who quickly asked her, “How much money do you have?” as her Aunt laid on the ground screaming and bleeding profusely. A credit card was her only ticket to the hospital where they immediately did a rape kit, and wanted to start operating on her battered broken face and body. She remembers speaking to her crying husband on the phone screaming, “Get out of there before they kill you! Get out of Mexico! Just come home no matter what! They are going to kill you! Don’t trust anyone, come home!”

With those words of her husband of 20 years, Rebecca got up, signed some paperwork that she couldn’t see, let alone read, and her hotel concierge immediately put her in a wheelchair and told her he would get her on a flight home back to the states right away.

As soon as she was back in North Carolina, she was rushed to the hospital where she learned she had lost three teeth, with both eye sockets and cheek bones broken, her nose broken, several broken ribs, had over a dozen stitches both inside and outside of her mouth, and another dozen around her left eye.

Rebecca stated, “By all rights my face should have caved in from the pressure on the plane and why it did not is a mystery…I was in a hell of a shape, but I was ALIVE.”

A Life Forever Changed

Since the incident, Rebecca’s life has never been the same. It caused her to develop severe depression and post traumatic stress for which she had to start taking medication and seek intense therapy. Due to the depression and stress, Rebecca lost her job due to the fact that she could not perform her job duties the way she used to. She vowed to herself and to other victims that Mexico would not forget her name. She spoke to anyone who would listen to her story…lawyers, politicians, the media, and Mexican authorities.

In August, 2007, North Carolina Senator, Elizabeth Dole referred Rebecca’s case to the U.S. Department of State and they sent her a letter stating that the U.S. Consular Agency in Cancun inquired with local police on her behalf and learned that a suspect had not been apprehended in connection with her case; however her case remains open.

Rebecca got in touch with a Mexican woman named Lydia Cacho who runs an organization called CIAM which helps abused/battered/raped women of Mexico. She also helps dozens of American women who are raped every year in Cancun who have not received justice. Rebecca is currently working with Ms. Cacho and has started her own website, “It Happened in Mexico”,

http://www.ithappenedinmexico.com/, to help and find others like her who were victimized in Cancun with the purpose of coming together to tell their stories, hoping that other victims know they are not alone.

Rebecca has become a crusader and continues to fight her case with the Mexican authorities and has no intention on giving up on finding her rapist and those who helped cover it up to save Cancun’s precious tourist reputation.