CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Two St. Thomas men are accused of luring a hotel guest to their apartment and then gang raping her there, authorities said.
Shaquille Adrian Cruz-Rosario and Roger Luis Perez-Velasquez were arrested and charged with first-degree rape and unlawful sexual contact, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The case began at 2:39 p.m. Monday, when officers were dispatched to the adults-only Pink Palm Hotel in Charlotte Amalie to investigate a sexual assault involving a guest, according to the VIPD.
VIPD mug shot of Shaquille Adrian Cruz-Rosario of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
The victim in this matter stated that she met the suspects on a trip she took earlier in the year while staying at the hotel, police said.
The victim stated that on May 31, 2024; while visiting the suspects at their apartment, she was
sexually assaulted by each man, according to police.
An investigation revealed that the two suspects work as bartenders at the Pink Palm Hotel and that the suspects are: Shaquille Adrian Cruz-Rosario and Roger Luis Perez-Velasquez, police said.
After a night of partying together, the victim said she went to the hotel’s staff house early Friday morning, where the two men lived, court documents show. She sat in Cruz-Rosario’s room with him to smoke.
At one point, he reportedly began to kiss and fondle her, which she told police was fine at first. However, when Cruz-Rosario began to free his genitals from his pants, she said that she told him that she did not want to have sex. He reportedly continued kissing her.
VIPD mug shot of Roger Luis Perez-Velasquez of Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas.
Shortly thereafter, with Cruz-Rosario straddling her, the woman said Velazquez walked into the room, according to Superior Court documents. The men reportedly exchanged some words in Spanish, and then Perez-Velazquez allegedly began grabbing at her breasts, while placing his free hand over her mouth. That is when Cruz-Rosario began to rape her, the woman told officers. Her attempts to break free from the grasp of the two men were futile, she said.
When the assault was over, the woman told police that Cruz-Rosario apologized several times, while Perez-Velazquez insisted on walking her back to her hotel room, court documents show. When she returned, the woman said she told her friend what had happened, and the pair began to avoid the two men.
However, the woman’s friend said that she spoke to Velazquez on Saturday, who reportedly admitted that Rosario had wronged her friend. Velazquez reportedly said that he told his colleague that he needed to apologize.
Cruz-Rosario and Perez-Velasquez consented to an interview at 7:54 p.m. Monday and then taken into official custody, according to police. The two men were were then booked and processed.
Bail for Cruz-Rosario and Perez-Velasquez was set at $100,000.00 each. Unable to post bail, each man was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections at the St. Thomas jail.
Cruz-Rosario and Perez-Velasquez are scheduled for an advice-of-rights hearing in Superior Court.
This case is currently under active investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to contact 911, the Criminal Investigation Bureau or Detective S. Donastorg at 340-774-2211 ext. 5575 or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-8477.