She reported her police officer ex-husband for rape – and investigation ‘was more traumatic than the incident’
A woman who reported her police officer ex-husband for rape says detectives mishandled the case and their investigation “was more traumatic than the actual incident”.
“Sally” – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – has said those running the investigation into her allegation had been colleagues or old friends of the accused.
She was also a police officer in the North of England, and says the first person she confided in waited for her to finish her story, before telling her he’d known her husband since school and had been on a team tour with him.
Sally said: “He let me tell him everything that had happened from start to finish, and then at the end of it said, right let me tell you that I grew up with him.”
She added: “The detective sergeant who was leading the investigation, she told me that my partner had worked for her as well, which shocked me.”
It had taken eight years for Sally to come forward since the rape, and she only found the courage after learning that her ex-partner was also alleged to have been violent towards his new wife.
Separately, she later discovered a neighbour had raised the alarm about loud, potentially violent behaviour in the early hours of the morning.
The man had written: “The worrying thing is he works for the police and I thought he’d know better.”
Sally said the alleged victim was never formally interviewed.
Following her allegations, Sally’s husband faced both a criminal investigation and a probe by Police Professional Standards. She said that when the criminal investigation was dropped, that seemed to be the cue to drop the internal review.
She said: “I just don’t feel believed. I feel like it’s all been brushed under the carpet.”
Her husband kept his job until retirement and at one point it was suggested he would be working in the same building as Sally.
After a subject access request, Sally discovered that the file passed to the Crown Prosecution Service included what she said were false allegations against her, claiming she had repeatedly accessed files on her husband.
Overall, she felt she was unsupported and was made to feel “needy” by asking for updates on the case. And she said, as a police officer herself, she “wasn’t allowed to be a victim”.
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Sally claimed she was raped by her ex-husband
‘If it happened again, I wouldn’t report it’
With great reluctance, Sally admits she has lost trust in her own force.
She said: “If it happened to me again, I wouldn’t report it. I found the investigation was more traumatic than the actual incident.”
In the wake of serial rapist PC David Carrick’s conviction, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley revealed that more than 1,000 of his officers remain in service despite allegations of sexual or domestic abuse.
PC David Carrick
The Home Office has asked all police forces to check their officers and staff against national police databases.
Sally said the police need to take complaints against its own more seriously. And she believes the police would have acted differently if her ex-husband was not an officer.
That is the big concern – that the police have a blind spot for its own bad apples.
Sky News contacted the police force that Sally worked for, but it declined to comment.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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