I'm sorry it happened to another woman but thank God they guy has been caught!! Thanks for the update and please continue to keep us posted.

Very good news. Let's hope he stays there so he can't hurt any other women.

I contacted a woman who posted about the rapist on Trip Advisor because she lives in Puerto Viejo and obviously has much better access to information than I do. She responded and gave me permission to share what she wrote.

My impression is that, now that the rapist is behind bars, Puerto Viejo is once again a lovely place to visit, as long as reasonable caution is observed.

Hi Moolyn,

Your facts are 95% accurate and he is still in Jail. We are all very relieved! It looks as if he'll be there for a long time now.

Costa Rican law is strange. Part of the problem with keeping him in custody before (besides a lack of solid evidence) is the rule that a judge has to be involved within 3 days of arrest in order to keep the criminal in custody. We do not have a judge in the area and due to the location and time constraints... he kept getting released. It was horribly frustrating!

Two of his victims are good friend of mine. They have worked tirelessly to make sure he stays locked up.

I live in Playa Chiquita across the road from his family’s residence.

Many people confuse his brother for him (they look very much alike) and that may be why some folks have thought he was trying to change his appearance. His brother is a very nice person, and is welcome in our home anytime.

We do not have a lot of violent crime here, but from dusk to sun up, it is never a good idea to walk the beaches alone. Man or woman! Robbery is the most frequent problem/concern.

Most of the time my daughters and I feel pretty safe.

I spoke with a member of the family the other day. He said that the family is paying for counselling for Rolando... the rapist... to help him overcome his mental illness. I for one hope it works!

Kimikins

I am the woman he attacked in May. I am the woman who fought him and saw him. I am the woman who was left for dead. I am the woman who suffered 25 stitches in my head, a hematoma, knife wounds, 6 hospital trips, and other injuries from the attack. I am the woman who could provide forensic evidence and identify him. I am the woman who had help from the locals to navigate the complicated judicial system and I stayed until he was captured. I am the woman who put him in jail for attempted murder, attempted rape, and sexual assault. I am the woman who would not rest even with serious injuries, nor would I leave the Country, until I had confirmation that he would be kept in jail until the trial. I am the woman who did this with the help of the community and the locals who stepped up to work 22 hours a day for almost 2 weeks are the reason this psychopath is looking at a 50 year sentence.

Shay, my heart goes out to you. What a terrible, terrible time you've had.
You are an extremely strong woman. What a horrible frightening time it must have been, and yet you stayed to make sure this monster was behind bars. You stayed when many would not have had the courage.

I hope you are healing from this horrible ordeal.

Take good care of yourself, and take pride in the fact that you stayed to do something that needed to be done.

Shay, you are a hero. To say thank you can never be enough.

Thank you for doing what you did Shay_F. You did the right thing for many other women, at great cost to yourself.

I just saw this on facebook, about the May attack and the subsequent events...
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=88463811446

Shay, on behalf of my niece and my family, I am immensely grateful for all that you did to put this wicked psychopath behind bars. I am so sorry for all the physical and emotional scars that you suffered at his hands; I had no idea that your were injured so seriously. Your bravery in spite of your pain spared many more women from his escalating violence. Eventually, he probably would have killed someone so you undoubtedly saved lives by your staunch efforts to make sure he was placed behind bars.

Knowing that this monster was in prison brought a measure of peace to my niece and to the other women he attacked, even though many of them never came forward as valiantly as you and the small group who also reported their attacks in the face of an unwieldy justice system. Hopefully this evil predator will now spend the rest of his life in prison.

Shay, you are a hero to me and mine and I appreciate that you shared your personal experiences with us here, in this safe place. I hope you return to read all the comments and feel the admiration we have for your courage. Thanks so much for coming forward with your story! You are in our hearts.

I thank Shay also; a very brave human being.

Shay - God Bless You. You are so very brave. Please know that the readers on this post will continue to pray for you. I so wish you did not have to suffer the way you did. You have proven how resilient we women are. I hope 2010 brings much love and happiness to you. Again, thank you for all your efforts to have this criminal removed from society.

Sadly, the bungling of the justice system continues in regards to this case - in spite of the diligent efforts of so many courageous and concerned women. My niece was informed that her file has been lost and she will probably have to testify again. I can only imagine how difficult reliving her experience will be for a teenage girl.

Even more horrific, it's possible that the attacker will be released from prison shortly, regardless of the danger he poses, especially to foreign women on vacation.

Shay and any others visiting Costa Rica or with contacts there, please continue to help keep the information posted here factual and up to date so that other women are warned about the dangers of visiting the beach on their own and avoid suffering the same traumatic experiences.

My prosecutor is Janet Mena. Please contact her and Celso Gamboa regarding linking additional cases to mine & informing them immediately of any suspicious-type events, like "lost files". Additionally, please also reach out to Antonio Calvo Vargas who is able to provide updates. Contact: 8916-6244, 2751-0135, [email protected]

Please call them and mention that you are a concerned citizen, local, or associated with the business community. It is vital to contact these people asap and show that this matter is crucial and not forgotten.


Be vigilant, stay diligent.

Thanks so much, Shay! I'll pass this information along to my sister-in-law right away in hopes that it can help.

Shay, my sister-in-law was in touch with your attorney.

My email address is [email protected]

I find this very powerful, witnessing victims being able to get together behind justice in this thread. Fodors is an amazing place.

I wonder if the Judge has a daughter?
How horrible! It is so sad that women have to deal with all of this, not only in CR but other areas of the world.

I have followed this story for a very long time and was both incensed and distraught by the local police's inability or indifference to catch this monster. We made different travel plans simply because of this issue and avoided the area altogether.

Thank you, Shay. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have single handedly made the world a safer place.

Shame on the legal system (in all countries) for not taking the necessary steps to keep these monsters off the streets.

The justice system has many problems to start with but it was multiplied in this case for several reasons. Everyone knew who the perpetrator was but he is the son of the local drug lord. He also selectively preyed on foreign women and it was very difficult for any of them to report the crime in a country where they didn't know the system and didn't speak the language. It is felt that the majority of his victims left Costa Rica without anyone there ever knowing of their experience. Many local businessmen didn't want tourists to know about the situation and stay away so they didn't offer warnings.

Eventually, like all criminals, this one made the mistake of attacking Costa Rican residents who look foreign and their cases were gathered together by a concerned former judge who offered his services gratis. And he also made the mistake of attacking a strong foreign woman, Shay, who stayed behind and to identify him and make sure that he was put behind bars.

I'm concerned right now about the possibility of a release soon but it seems that Shay's prosecutor and others are working diligently to make sure that this doesn't happen.

Some good news to share! There has been enough solid evidence put forth in the case against the rapist to extend his inprisonment for at least another four months, a great relief!

No trial date has been set as yet but legal proceedings are moving slowly towards this end, thanks to the brave efforts of Shay and all of the other dauntless women who have come forward to testify.