TODD MISSION, Texas – Grimes County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KPRC 2 they are investigating a reported sexual assault at the Texas Renaissance Festival grounds.
“I am following up on leads regarding the incident,” the lead investigator said to KPRC 2.
KPRC 2 reached out to the sheriff’s office after the victim’s mother alerted the station.
“It’s very frustrating to try to get answers and try and figure it all out,” the victim’s mother told KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun. “We do not want this pushed under the rug. We want this known. This isn’t going to go away. We want answers.”
The 22-year-old victim believes she and her girlfriend were targeted.
She recalls watching jousting and then watching a performance of “Tease of the Seas.” Once the couple wrapped up the show, she told Balogun they were standing near a restaurant when a man told them to join him and the woman he was with.
“We went upstairs with them,” the victim said. “I don’t remember accepting any drinks from them. All I know is [my girlfriend] went to the bar with the guy and when she came back, we went upstairs and then we sat down at the bench and then we blacked out.”
The 22-year-old said she woke up in a ditch, separated from her girlfriend.
“All I remember is I was staring at the sky. I couldn’t feel my body. I had my phone in my hand and two tankers in my other hand,” she said. “I didn’t recognize I was assaulted until I felt my clothes and they weren’t how they usually are. It was after I was coming down off the drugs that I could start to feel the pressure and the pain and that’s not normal.”
She said when she woke up, she went running searching for her girlfriend.
“By the time we reunited, we knew we were drugged and I knew I was assaulted, and we were trying to figure everything out as far as getting to the hospital,” she said.
The 22-year-old went to the hospital, where she took a rape kit and was given several medications to prevent illness.
“This just makes me really mad because as a mom, you want to protect your kids even though there’s nothing I could have done because I wasn’t there, and she is a young adult,” the victim’s mom said. “But it doesn’t make it any easier.”
The Texas Renaissance Festival spokesperson said they are cooperating with the investigation.
“Based on the information we have been given, it is our understanding that a concerning incident took place and was later reported to the authorities here on Texas Renaissance Festival property last weekend. We are cooperating fully with the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office and will continue to do so. Since this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot provide any further comment on the matter,” the spokesperson said.
The victim’s mom told KPRC 2 she was told festival organizers didn’t have cameras covering festival grounds but instead individual cameras at each tent.
“How do they not have cameras? On their facility. How do they not provide the extra security in this day and age? The cameras are such a huge deal. Why do you not have cameras over your campgrounds?” the victim’s mom asked.
Festival organizers told KPRC 2 that safety is a priority.
“We will add that the safety of all our patrons, employees and vendors has always been of the utmost importance to the Texas Renaissance Festival,” a spokesperson said. “We provide a robust security program every season across our 60-acre village and 200-acre campground, as we have done so for years. We ask our community and patrons to be safe and remain vigilant during their time here. If you see something, say something and report it to one of the multitude of off-duty police officers patrolling our Festival grounds.”