‘It’s sickening’: Woman says she was punched in the face while on vacation in Cuba

No charges were laid, and the woman is shocked nothing was done after she was assaulted. Pat Foran reports for Consumer Alert.

Another March break has come and gone and the vast majority of people who travelled south had a good holiday and are now back at work and school.

But, vacations don’t always go as planned.

One Ontario woman is sharing her story after a Canadian man who allegedly punched her in the face at a Cuban resort faced no charges for the assault.

“This was just supposed to be a nice time away,” said Crystal Jardine of Grand Valley, near Orangeville, Ontario.

Jardine told CTV News she’s still recovering from a black eye she received while on vacation in Cuba.

She and her husband left on February 28th for a five day trip to a resort in Varadero with Sunwing Vacations, but on the second day of their trip, the couple said they were sitting at a beach bar when a stranger approached Jardine.

“He just asked me for a cigarette and I gave him a smoke,” she said.

Jardine said that’s when a woman became angry and accused her of flirting with the man.

“Out of nowhere, this man came up and punched me in the face. Then he took my husband down and he got on top of him,” Jardine said.

She described the man as “huge” and said he started punching her husband after hitting her.

The man was eventually restrained by security guards, but instead of detaining him, they told him to leave.

“I’m like, ‘call the police’ and my eye is swelling out. At this point, I know I’m injured and I’m freaking out and saying ‘come on call the cops what are you waiting for’,” Jardine said.

Jardine eventually contacted the Cuban police herself and was told if she laid charges she would have to remain in Cuba.

She said was given no information about the man who punched her except that he was Canadian.

“I don’t have the man’s name, the resort won’t give me the man’s name. They wouldn’t give me an official report of the assault. The only information I was provided with is that he was Canadian.”

When CTV News reached out to Sunwing Vacations, a spokesperson said in a statement, “We can confirm that Sunwing Vacations received a post-travel inquiry regarding the incident in question. First and foremost, the health and safety of our customers is of paramount importance throughout their vacation journey, and we sincerely regret to hear about the incident which occurred on hotel property.”

“Our Customer Relations team has been communicating with the customer, hotel and local destination representative regarding the details of this incident, which continues to be investigated by the resort, including corroborating various witness statements. As this is an active investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

According to criminal defence lawyer Joseph Neuberger, while charges cannot be laid in Canada, Jardine may have options if she can locate the alleged assailant.

“Because of international law, she cannot pursue any type of criminal allegation against him in Canada because the jurisdiction is Cuba,” said Neuberger. “Once returning to Canada, her only remedy if she knew the individual’s details, name, address, etc. is to commence a civil action for battery.”

Jardine says she wants the man who punched her in the face to face consequences for his actions.

“It’s sickening that someone can do this, and knowing that they’re Canadian and they can do this too. The whole thing is not okay,” said Jardine. “I want the man to be held accountable for what he did to me.”