Warning for Women Visiting the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica
 

The southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful parts of the country but a serial rapist is currently operating in the area south of Puerto Viejo. I’m sharing this information because someone I know and love was one of the victims, my 16 year old niece, a resident of Costa Rica. She made a police report on her own initiative and would like to warn other women visiting the area so I am passing this message along on her behalf.

If you go to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, please do not visit the beach on your own! Her mother adds that she can't emphasize enough how important it is for women not to travel alone in this area and not to accept invitations from charming strangers.

The May 27th edition of AM Costa Rica ran an article entitled “Caribbean struggles with rape and official delays” which provides additional information about the frustrations of this entire situation. http://www.amcostarica.com/052708.htm

These vicious attacks have been happening for the last year and local residents are convinced all those in Puerto Viejo are the work of a convicted rapist who was imprisoned for 14 years prior to that. Rather than serve as rehabilitation, prison taught him how to avoid leaving DNA evidence and not let victims see his face and he has been able to avoid arrest so far this time around.

The information in the next paragraph was provided by my sister-in-law. Because her parents are Canadian, my niece looks like a foreigner but is actually Costa Rican born and perfectly fluent in both English and Spanish. She has impressed us all with her maturity by insisting on following all the official reporting procedures as well as undergoing a nauseating round of anti-AIDS drugs. She is a survivor but many tears have been shed on behalf of her pain and lost innocence.

“He lives at a beach called Playa Chiquita but has easy access to all of the beaches from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo. What he usually does is spy and wait for a woman, preferably a tourist, to walk on the beach alone. There are a lot of trees and underbrush close to the water's edge so it is easy for him to surprise and drag away an unsuspecting victim. After an attack he rushes home, changes, takes his dog with him on his motorcycle and goes to "hang out" at one of the more populated beaches. (Punta Uva) “

Because foreigners are usually targeted, the attacks are seldom officially reported because victims must go through a very complicated process, difficult enough for residents to cope with let alone non-Spanish speaking tourists. Besides, only a small percentage of rape victims ever file reports. Currently, a group of Costa Rican residents, including my family, have found each other and hired a lawyer and are attempting to make inroads into the system.

A few days after the brutal rape of my niece, a 50 year old woman was attacked in the same place and manner but was able to fight off the attacker and escape. Even though she saw and was able to identify her attacker and he was the same person locals believe to be the serial rapist, the police would not charge him because he hadn’t actually raped her!

I'm so sorry to hear this, but thank you for posting the warning. All the best for your courageous niece.

Moolyn,
Thanks for posting the warning.
Your niece deserves much credit for carrying through with whatever is needed to try to finally bring this dangerous man to justice.

I had read about the situation on another board. But it really hit home now because I actually have met Moolyn and because I was in PV for the first time just last month. We are often lulled into a false sense of security - that it won't happen to us...

So I guess I will just echo the message to potential visitors to the Puerto Viejo area - be aware of this danger, and be prudent.

raquel

Thank you, moolyn. I hope your niece will find peace with this horror. Bless her heart.

I, too, have met moolyn and feel so bad for what her niece has gone through.
What a brave young woman her niece is to follow through and do all the paperwork involved..
Moolyn I wish her the very best. This whole thing must be very hard on your whole family.

It's so hard to accept that the authorities know who this man is and won't do anything. So terrible.

Thanks for letting everyone know about this.
And lets hope something is done about it.

I'm so sorry about your niece - I'm sure you are all very proud of her. Thanks for posting this important information.

Moolyn,

Sorry to hear about this. I hope everything works out as hard as it may be on you right now. I have asked Skip at our site, if I could repost this and a link to Fodors for this article so the word can get out to protect other females that are traveling in the area. He approved, so there is one more site going to battle for you. I think with enough people and web sites getting the word out, we can at least prevent this individual from being able to do such horrendous acts again. The best case scenario, we can bring him to justice.

God Bless,

Mike

Thank you all for your kind words and for realizing the importance of warning women visiting this area to take the simple precaution of not going to the beach on their own.

My sister-in-law wrote: "If a tourist incurred a physical injury because of dangerous currents or the unsafe practices of tour operators, hotels wouldn't think twice about warning other people. This is something potentially even more damaging and yet hotel owners are hesitant to talk about it.”

This is short-sighted if hotel owners are simply trying to protect their business interests. If my brother’s family had been warned, this most likely would not have happened to one of their three daughters and they would have continued to visit this attractive area. Now they do not ever plan to return for a holiday and they are advising all of their friends to stay away as well.

One reason that the predator has been able to continue for so long is his deliberate choice of foreign women. "Few women want to hang around long enough to press charges and subject themselves to the wretched police treatment of the situation so he keeps going." He does not wait long between attacks so the potential number of victims over the past year is staggering.

His fatal mistake may have been to unintentionally attack some Costa Rican residents. A well respected lawyer - a former judge - was moved to contact these victims about taking on this case. He is familiar with the system and hopeful that charges can soon be brought on the basis of the testimony of my niece and three other Costa Rican women. A fifth woman will come forward once the rapist is in custody; she is too afraid to act until then.

M,

Kodi brought this post to my attention this weekend.

On a personal level, let me say that I am thinking of and saying a prayer (it's my thing, as you know!) for your niece--my sister was attacked at 16 by a stranger who dragged her into the bushes right here in our own community. She had the courage to go through the system and see her attacker brought to justice and, at 50, she is very glad she did. It was not easy and the support of family meant a great deal to her.

I am also sending this thread to a group of 'gals pals' from BC who go to CR quite often. One owns property there and a couple more are thinking of retiring there. This is is a timely warning.

L

A couple years ago there was a gang rape at Manuel Antonio. The police released the perpetrators since the woman didn't stay in CR and press charges.

You have to be careful where ever you travel.

LJ, thanks for your prayers and for passing this warning along to others who might be in the Puerto Viejo area.

RBCal, thanks for sharing. It seems that this particular rapist isn't the only one who realizes that targetting foreign women can help to avoid prosecution.

Women on their own are vulnerable everywhere, not just on holidays.

I'd like to give kudos to the people on this forum calling attention to this problem as well as to fodors for allowing a discussion of this important information.

I was following this story on another forum until administration decided that it was in their best (business) interest if single women were not warned about the dangers of this specific location and consequently, started to shut down any and all discussion of this topic.

As of last week, the serial rapist is still out and about - please pay heed to this warning.

And thank YOU for topping the post. We need to keep it at the top as long as incidents are occuring. Even if there ARE no incidents, I don´t think I´ll ever feel comfortable walking alone on the beach down there again. That said, I NEVER have felt comfortable alone on a beach that was deserted.

Nothing much has changed about the situation in Puerto Viejo so my warning still stands but AM Costa Rica included an updated report in their July 4th edition, actually naming the suspect this time:

http://www.amcostarica.com/morenews2.htm

Moolyn, I could not find the article, but thanks for keeping everyone posted.
It's so hard to believe the authorities have a suspect and don't act on it.

It's also hard to believe another forum would shut down any discussion. The safety of women is so very important. It doesn't make sense to delete threads that heed a warning.

Thank you Moolyn and Thank you fodor's.

For those interested try this link
http://www.amcostarica.com/070408.htm
It is about half way down.

Fully agree that this is an important issue. The other forum did not seem to realize that the issue was not to bash PV - it has some good things going for it - or cause some type of a scare or scandal. It was just to provide information on an issue that is out there right not in order to make people aware of their surrounds and prevent them from acting in a manner that could put them at risk.

Thanks again Moolyn.

raquel

Kodi, I'm sorry that my link didn't work. Raquel, thank you so much for providing the correct one!

Some of the information I provided earlier was incorrect. The rapist was previously sentenced to a longer term but only ended up serving about half the time. This type of thing happens here as well.

I also don't understand why the other board doesn't want women to get the truth so they can avoid a dangerous situation. Nobody ever suggested that Puerto Viejo be boycotted. All women going there need do is avoid deserted beaches when they are on their own. Thank you Fodors for allowing this crucial warning to stand!

On the positive side, the overextended Costa Rican judicial system is hard at work on this case and some local hotels actually are warning their female guests. I even heard about a policeman who approached a woman on the beach alone and told her it was not a good idea for her to be there by herself. Local residents are actively trying to do something about the situation even though the culprit is said to have connections and seems to be related to almost everyone in the area.

A young woman who recently visited Puerto Viejo on her own sent me a report of her stay. She had asked on another board whether PV was a safe place for a woman on her own and had booked after being assured it was safe, even though some of the men assuring her were locals who were well aware of the rapist preying on foreign women but chose not to disclose this information for whatever reasons.

After discovering the truth, the young woman contacted the hotel where she was staying, Tierra de Suenos, right beside Playa Chiquita. The owners, Angie and Brendan, were so open and honest that she decided to go ahead with her trip, even though they offered to refund her money if she no longer wanted to go. They even offered her the use of their dogs to take along with her when she left the hotel. Forewarned and forearmed, she made sure that she was never on the beach alone and was able to have a wonderful and safe trip.

She wrote:

I found out exactly where he lived, what he looked like, etc. I guess his mom has moved in with him, so that is part of the reason he has been laying low, along with the pressure of the community. Most people of the area seem to think he will be "taken out" fairly soon. And the reason he has not been "taken out" yet is due to dad being the drug king guy.

The Playa Chiquita community (is annoyed) that he has disturbed the community the way that he has and they are quite frustrated about it.

I am continuing to put the word out regarding (the other board’s) unwillingness to keep their forums honest.....

So once again, many thanks to Fodors for operating a board where people actually can get the truth before they go and have a safe holiday as a result of simply being aware.

Moolyn, thanks for the update, and thanks to the woman who sent you the update. That was great of her to do so.
Also great to hear the owners of the hotel were so honest and open.

Still so hard to believe this guy is on the loose.

The young woman I quoted in my last update sent me another message about an attack that occured the week after she returned home. Fortunately, this attack didn't have the outcome the preditor expected but it serves to show that he will keep on trying.


The rapist struck again......The owners of the place where I stayed...Tierra de Suenos.....emailed me to update me....the week after I returned he attacked another woman! But this time he attacked the wrong woman! She has her blackbelt in karate and kicked the ____ out of him. She got away after leaving her mark on him. I guess she beat him up pretty bad.....but Angie and Brendan told me that since this girl did not know about the history of the rapist, she left the next day as planned. But I guess they are trying to get her to come back to testify since she saw him and also left quite a few marks on him!

Pretty crazy, huh?

Thought you would want to know.....let everyone know!