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Local Woman Recalls Alleged Assault In Aruba

North Shore Resident Says Hotel Worker Took Advantage Of Her

POSTED: 6:13 pm EDT June 7, 2005
UPDATED: 6:19 am EDT June 8, 2005

The search for the missing Alabama teenager on the island of Aruba has prompted another Massachusetts woman to come forward with a story of a vacation gone horribly wrong.

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NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that police and FBI agents have scaled back the search for Natalee Holloway. On Monday, more than 700 volunteers combed the island looking for any sign of the 18-year-old girl. Two men have been charged in connection with her disappearance.

A common thread links the Holloway case to a pair of Massachusetts women who say they were sexually assaulted on the island after leaving the popular nightclub called Carlos and Charlie's.

The North Shore woman, who does not want to be identified, said that she came forward with her story as a warning to others. She said that two years ago in Aruba, she befriended a hotel worker, who she says turned against her.

"On my last night there, I decided to go out on a date with him. I thought it would just be a friendly, harmless affair, and it turned out to be a disaster," she said. "He took me to the local bar in Aruba, Carlos and Charlie's. He bought me drinks, and after we left the bar, he proceeded to take me to a parking lot where he assaulted me."

While no one is certain what happened to Holloway, many fear the worst. The North Shore woman believes that some hotel workers are using their positions to take advantage of young girls.

"I guess I wasn't thinking and I felt like I was safe with this person. He seemed friendly, and I thought it would just be an innocent date -- you know, go out dancing. I really didn’t think such a tragedy would happen," she said. "A lot of locals go there at night just for fun. A lot of American girls go there and party and they even have a stage there where the young girls, they get them drunk, and they get up on stage and they start doing foolish things that they probably never would do at home. They are under the influence and they are on vacation."

The woman did not tell police at the time of the alleged assault.

"After this happened, I wish that I did come forward because this could have been one of the people that harmed this young girl," she said.

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