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A woman who was raped by her father as a child has told how he died before standing trial after she endured almost nine years of police and court delays.
Rachel believes she was robbed of justice by the excessively long police investigation, which left her feeling suicidal. She waited almost seven years for her father to be charged with abusing her and a second person. His trial was postponed due to a barristers’ strike and he died six months before facing justice.
Rachel, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, described the delays and her treatment as barbaric and inhumane. “In all it was a decade, so it was absolutely isolating and harrowing. I wanted to end my life so many times because it was too much. I couldn’t mentally cope with it all,” she said.
She has successfully taken legal action against Cambridgeshire constabulary and received a written apology from the force last week, more than 11 years after she reported her father’s abuse.
Rachel is one of more than 37,000 sexual offences complainants who have waited more than three years for their cases to be investigated over the last decade, according to responses to freedom of information requests submitted by campaigners. A super-complaint was filed against police forces in England and Wales last month over these delays.
Rachel said the police’s handling of her case was “diabolical” from the moment she reported the abuse in December 2014, when two male officers visited her home late at night to take her statement.
Her father was arrested soon after and bailed, and Rachel said the officer in charge indicated the police investigation would take 18 months because it was a strong case.
As she waited for a charging decision, she did not go on holiday and isolated herself from her best friend, who was a witness in the case. But the months turned into years, during which she said there were long periods when she did not hear from the police.
“I think there was a 15-month gap with no contact from the police. No updates, no nothing, even though I’d asked for regular contact. I was a single mum, vulnerable, on my own. I was very much kept in the dark, even with continuous efforts of trying,” she said.
Officers did not immediately tell her when her father’s bail restrictions were lifted in 2016. It came shortly before changes to the law allowed suspects to be released under investigation (RUI) without the set timeframes or conditions attached to police bail.
“Bearing in mind my dad only lived five, six miles at the most away from me, I avoided that side of the city to stay away because I never wanted to bump into him,” Rachel said.
“I wasn’t in contact with my best friend who was also a witness. My family alienated me in this time because I’d reported him and still do because I went against the family.
“You just go numb really. I just didn’t know because even though we tried to chase [the police] there was no response. It was like you were forgotten about, it didn’t matter, they don’t care and that was it.”
Her father was eventually charged in August 2021, almost seven years after she reported him. He faced three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 years of age and one count of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 years, relating to a second victim.
“I felt a bit of relief because I thought I’ve been heard. It made it feel like [the trial] was imminent, [but] it was another waiting game,” Rachel said.
As the September 2022 trial date approached, she was relieved her legal ordeal was coming to an end. But the trial was postponed at short notice due to a barristers’ strike and rescheduled for August 2023. Rachel said she could no longer cope with the emotional toll of supporting the prosecution and withdrew from the case.
“I needed to take power back somehow because it was just draining me so much. I thought another year, I can’t do another year. I physically, mentally couldn’t, and then within a few months he died anyway,” she said.
“I’m glad that I did what I did in withdrawing because to have got to the date and he would have died anyway would have been even a bigger kick in the teeth than what it already is.”
Rachel said she no longer trusted the police and would be reluctant to report another crime. “I did what I thought was the right thing in reporting. And then I was completely ignored and I was suicidal for all that time,” she said.
“I was robbed of not just justice but enjoying being a mother. I wasn’t able to be that mum that I should have been able to be and have a normal life with my [children]. I’ve lost more than a decade of my existence.”
DCS Sherrie Nash, of Cambridgeshire constabulary, said: “We recognise the immense courage it takes for anyone to report sexual abuse, and we are deeply saddened by the impact these offences and the subsequent criminal justice process have had on the survivor. We acknowledge that aspects of the investigation and prosecution fell short of the standards we strive to uphold and have apologised to the survivor for the distress this caused.”
She said the force had made improvements in how it investigates non‑recent abuse and violence against women and girls. Officers receive enhanced specialist training and there is more structured supervisory involvement at key stages in investigations.
Nash added that the force had strengthened its partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service to reduce delays. She said: “While no organisational change can undo the harm this survivor experienced, the improvements we have made, and continue to make, reflect our determination to learn and strengthen our response.”
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Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.
