A British teenager was left ‘traumatised’ after she was sexually assaulted by a middle-aged hotel security guard during a family holiday in Tunisia.
The 17-year-old victim was staying at the Delphin Habib hotel in Monastir, Tunisia, last week with her mum and nine other family members when she and a younger relative were targeted by the male hotel worker as they left the ladies’ toilet.
He allegedly held the teen by her neck and groped her, then tried to kiss her 13-year-old cousin before they were able to escape back to their family group, and the worker fled the hotel.
The girl’s mother, 44, an NHS worker, immediately reported the assault to the hotel but claims they refused to phone the police for over an hour.
After the family insisted, the guard was swiftly arrested and brought back to the hotel, where the police pressured the victim to drop the charges, claiming the man needed to earn money to support his family.
The mother said: ‘It’s been absolutely awful, it’s traumatising. I asked him why he did this to our children, and he just said “for fun”.
‘Since we’ve been home, we’ve barely slept. My daughter has been taken to the doctors today because she can’t stop seeing his face.
‘It’s broken us all, this will stay with her for life.’
Both she and the 13-year-old’s mother were driven to a local police station to make a statement, where they say they were shouted at in Arabic, felt they were being ordered to sign documents they couldn’t understand, and cops refused to contact the British Embassy.
She added: ‘The police were horrendous, it was very scary. We explained what had happened, but the police treated us like criminals.
‘They kept shouting at us and we felt very vulnerable. They kept saying we needed to drop the charges, they said you must forgive him because he has a wife and family back home and he needs to work for money, they told us his mum died two months ago so please forgive him.
‘It was absolutely constant. The police refused to let us phone British Embassy or the tour operator, we were treated like prisoners.
The 17-year-old was on holiday with her family in Tunisia when she was targeted by the hotel worker
The family claim the police pressured them to drop the charges against the man, as he needed to earn money to support his family
‘They printed off a piece of paper written in Arabic and told us to sign it – they wouldn’t give us a copy or tell us what it said but I fear it was something like we’re dropping the charges.’
The family booked the £5,500 seven-night trip through Loveholidays, but following the incident on their second night, they decided they didn’t feel safe continuing the holiday and wanted to come home early.
They asked the rep in their hotel – who doesn’t work for Loveholidays – to change their flights but were instead offered a free spa voucher.
Eventually, they spent an extra £1,400 to book tickets to fly home on Saturday night, which was refunded by the hotel.
Before they departed, they were told the hotel would only pay for the flights if they wrote a statement saying they had been helpful.
The mum said: ‘They say he’s been fired, but it’s a busy hotel and I don’t believe for one second they wouldn’t have him back to work.
‘It’s scary to think that can happen to our children. He’s employed to keep tourists safe but look what he’s doing when he thinks nobody is watching.
‘We’ve been constantly asking Loveholidays for a refund for the holiday, this happened on Day two.
‘But they are still advertising this hotel as a family holiday destination.’
The 200-room hotel boasts a spa, private beach, watersports, two swimming pools, mini golf, two restaurants, five bars and a concierge.
Loveholidays and the hotel have been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office said: ‘We are supporting a group of British Nationals who were in Tunisia. Our staff stand ready to support British nationals 24/7.’
The family were staying at the Delphin Habib hotel in Monastir, Tunisia. The girl’s mother says hotel staff failed to contact police for an hour
In August, another British mother said she was sexually assaulted while parasailing during a holiday in Tunisia.
She claims a male instructor groped her and pressed his body against hers while they were strapped together in the air above the resort town of Sousse.
In an interview, the woman, from Merseyside, described how the alleged ordeal left her feeling ‘violated and dirty and scared’.
She had booked a tandem parasailing flight with a friend, but the staff told them it was too windy for them to go up together. Instead, they would each fly with an operator.
Her friend went first and had no issues. Watching from the beach, she noted that there was clearly a significant distance between her friend and the male guide.
But she said her own flight was a completely different experience.
‘I could feel the back of my bikini bottoms being pulled, and he was pulling the strap. He must have been tightening the harness to get me closer,’ she told The Sun.
‘His legs straddled around me, he had one hand up on the parachute, the other wasn’t. Then I felt him touch my leg.
‘He was groping me and moving back and forth into me and talking to me in Arabic. I felt him pressing against me. I kept arching my back. I felt violated and dirty and was scared. He was only a young lad, maybe around 20.
‘It was a horrible experience and I was really scared. I felt helpless hanging in the air.’
The woman says she burst into tears as soon as she landed and immediately reported the incident to the water sports centre’s manager. She then went to the local police.
The divorcee had booked the £6,000 easyJet package holiday with her children and was unable to enjoy the rest of the trip.
She added: ‘As women, you expect a bit of banter from men in these countries, but this wasn’t banter, it was a sexual assault.’
She says her alleged attacker has since been arrested, and her insurance company, as well as the Foreign Office, is helping her.
EasyJet said ‘the safety and wellbeing of our customers is a priority, and we are continuing to support’ the woman.
‘We are also liaising closely with our hotel partner to look into the reports.’
A Loveholidays spokesperson said: ‘We are very concerned about the serious incident reported by our customers during their recent holiday to Tunisia, and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time. We remain in touch with them and are continuing to offer them our support.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our customers is always our absolute priority and a full investigation is underway with the hotel involved. The hotel has confirmed that the individual involved has been taken into custody and will not be returning to the hotel.’