"Francis said reporters should have asked the man, who had admitted that his door was unlocked, whether he left his doors open back home." - St Lucia Labour leader Claudius Francis shifting the blame of a beating, rape and robbery from the attackers to the victims. As reported by the Saint Lucia STAR.

June 18, 2006

A French woman and her husband from Holland were violently beaten, raped and robbed while sleeping in their docked yacht only 50 feet offshore from Reduit Beach (close to Rodney Bay). Three men swam to their boat and boarded it in the middle of the night. They brutally beat the husband to unconsciousness and two of the men gang-raped his wife. They stole a laptop, digital camera, and cash. Attempting to swim back to shore with the stolen goods, they ended up tossing the laptop and camera back into the ocean after they were ruined by getting wet.

The crime was reported by HTS Channel 4, St. Lucia's television station. Read more >

The brave couple reported their story, which was accepted by the press, and stayed in St. Lucia to help with arrests. Three men were arrested.

The St. Lucia Star reported their story and also makes reference to a crime that happened two years ago where visitors were beaten and robbed at knife point in Marigot Bay.

Their story was posted on Noonsite, a global travel site for sailors, to warn other sailors. Read more >

One of the most upsetting things is that the St. Lucian government has been entirely unsympathetic to the crime victims. The Star reports that Claudius Francis, who is the vice-chairman of the governing St. Lucian Labour Party, attacked the professionalism of reporters for being too sympathetic to victims of crime and accused the French and Dutch victims for not locking their doors.