Vietnam has charged a 23-year-old man with rape after Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam, a 24-year-old American student, reported being assaulted while sleeping during a group trip on July 5. Tam alleges the accused's family offered money to avoid police involvement and that local authorities initially pushed for a private settlement. She reported the assault on July 21, says police asked her to reenact the attack, and sought help from U.S. officials after limited initial support from the embassy. Vietnamese officials say the case is being handled under local law and the U.S. State Department is monitoring the matter.
Vietnam Charges Man With Rape After U.S. Student Alleges Assault During Resort Trip
Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam wipes her tears during an interview with The Associated Press in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo)(AP Photo/undefined)
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnamese authorities have charged a 23-year-old man with rape after an American student, Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam, said she was sexually assaulted while she slept during a group holiday at a resort near Hanoi.
Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam wipes tears during an interview with The Associated Press in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo)(AP Photo/undefined)
Tam, 24, who moved to the United States with her family at age 5 and returned to Vietnam in May for a banking internship, says the assault occurred on July 5 while she was staying with a group of acquaintances in Phu Tho province. She reported the incident to police on July 21.
Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam looks at her father after an interview with The Associated Press in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo)(AP Photo/undefined)
In interviews, in her police complaint and in communications with U.S. and Vietnamese officials, Tam says she awoke to find the man kissing her neck, told him to stop and resisted, but that he pinned her arms and raped her. She said she later received apologies from the man on July 9 — once in writing and once by phone — and that members of the travel group arranged a meeting with his father, who she says asked how much money would be acceptable to avoid a police complaint.
Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo)(AP Photo/undefined)
The accused man has not responded to requests for comment sent through social media. In an email to The Associated Press, the man's father said the two had been "intimate" and denied pressuring Tam to drop the case.
Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo)(AP Photo/undefined)
Allegations of Pressure and Police Conduct
Tam alleges that the man's family pressured her to accept compensation instead of pursuing a criminal complaint, and that local police initially encouraged a private settlement. She says investigators also asked her to reenact the assault at the scene, which she found distressing, and that police later urged her to sign a statement declining a rape kit and legal counsel — a request she refused.
"A part of me is gone. And it's in that room," Tam said of returning to the room where she says the assault occurred.
U.S. Officials and Embassy Response
Tam says she received limited assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi at first; embassy staff advised her she could report the case to Vietnamese police or return to the U.S. After her father contacted U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, the embassy called Tam to apologize. The U.S. State Department said it is aware of the case but declined further comment for legal and privacy reasons, noting the safety of U.S. citizens is a top priority.
Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said authorities had initiated legal proceedings "in accordance with Vietnamese law." The ministry did not answer questions about alleged police pressure to settle the case privately.
The investigation is ongoing, and Tam says she went public — an uncommon step in Vietnam where sexual violence is rarely discussed openly — to help protect other women.
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