Dear Source,
My sincere thanks to Jean Etsinger for her recent piece decrying the media reaction to the Wyndham SBBC child sexual abuse case.
I was thoroughly sickened by the comments that I read in the printed media attributed to the Justice Department, Martin Public Relations, the V. I. Tourism Director, and what amounted to "no comment" by the management of the hotel chain.
The Justice Department was the worst — not to worry, St. Thomas parents, these children weren't from here. Gross! The next people to be prosecuted in this case, after the accused, should be the local hotel management personnel who neglected their responsibilities in proper oversight of the child care operation.
Talk about bad publicity! If the V.I. loses family travelers over this, we should not be surprised. Its message of attempting to minimize such horrifying instances are far worse than the poor hotel service reputation we have already earned.
Helen Gjessing
Editor's note: To read the original column click here.
