Rape accuser says police officer who investigated case made unwanted sexual advances for a year

Published

2 years ago

January 20, 2023

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More allegations against police officers are coming to light following the revelation that serial rapist police officer David Carrick got away with his crimes for years, despite opportunities to stop him.

Two women have told their stories to Sky News.

One says she was preyed on by the officer investigating her rape case, another claims her alleged rapist ex-partner worked in professional standards – the department that would investigate predatory police officers.

‘Amy’, not her real name, reported an alleged rape and says the male officer investigating began to make sexual advances towards her.

She says: “He started saying to me, ‘I have to say this to you now, or I’m never going to tell you. I really like you and I really want to take you out on a date’.

“To which I was obviously then quite vulnerable, I’d just had a baby, I’d been raped, I was in a very dark place. And this officer was quite confrontational face-to-face.”

She claims the officer suggested he come to see her at night, with a bottle of gin, even when she was living in a women’s refuge.

Amy says: “I was on edge, I thought ‘what if he does turn up? If he turns up, do I have to have sex with him? Is he going to make me have sex with him? If I don’t have sex with him, is my case going to get closed because of it?’

“To me, he had a lot of power.”

Amy says the unwanted advances continued for a year after the trial, and he also made them to a female witness.

Eventually, police turned up at Amy’s door, telling her that this man was being investigated for things he’d allegedly done to other women. But the damage was done.

“You just don’t trust the police anymore,” she says.

“I had to report an ex-partner for a domestic incident, and I honestly didn’t want to. I sat there and said to my sister ‘I’m not going back to the police.'”

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She added: “But there was an incident where he’d attacked me, and the neighbours had rung the police. And the police turned up and it was two male officers.

“And the male officers asked me to go outside and said, ‘can you come outside and speak to us?’

“I said, ‘absolutely no way am I coming outside, I’m not going anywhere with you on my own.'”

‘A string of complaints’

‘Charlotte’, whose name we have also changed, reported her ex-partner for alleged rape.

He was working for professional standards within the police, the department that investigates abusive officers.

Charlotte worked in the force too, and says he should never have had that job because he’d had a string of complaints against him.

She told Sky News: “I think to be fair the whole force was shocked that he had a job in the professional standards department, because it was common knowledge that he had been investigated so many times, that’s what he was known for.”

Despite previous allegations from other women, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to prosecute.

In a letter to Charlotte, they gave various reasons for dismissing her case such as “you were laughing as you told the suspect to ‘stop’.”

Another section states: “You could have pushed him away, and again he might not have heard you say ‘no’.”

And about another allegation where she claimed he was hurting her and had asked him to stop, it says, “He might have interpreted ‘ow’ in a different way, he might have believed you too were aroused by the hitting.”

‘Like I’ve been raped again’

The letter concludes: “To my mind you had the freedom to make a choice which included reluctantly consenting.”

Charlotte is disgusted by the legal concept of reluctant consent and says: “It’s just left me feeling like I’ve been raped again – but by the justice system, the people who are supposed to be looking after us.”

The force, which we’ve decided not to name, said that despite no criminal charges, Charlotte’s ex-partner faced a gross misconduct hearing, was dismissed and now remains on the barred list.

The CPS said: “We understand that our decision not to bring charges will be a disappointing one. Our role is to make decisions based on the evidence and the law.

“After carefully considering all the evidence in the case, including the account given by the complainant, we concluded the evidential requirement to bring a prosecution was not met.

“This decision was upheld following a Victims’ Right to Review and a detailed letter was sent to the complainant explaining the full reasons for our decision.”

It said all cases are dealt with “fairly and with integrity” and that people should continue to report rape and sexual assault to the police.

Charlotte believes predatory police officers gain confidence in the knowledge that so few rape cases reach court and that the stigma of speaking out also helps abusers.

But after seeing how serial rapist PC David Carrick escaped detection for so long, more women are deciding to break their silence.

UK

Queen Camilla withdraws from engagements after becoming unwell with chest infection

Published

6 hours ago

November 5, 2024

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Queen Camilla withdraws from engagements after becoming unwell with chest infection

The Queen is unwell with a chest infection and has withdrawn from her engagements this week, Buckingham Palace has announced.

A palace spokesperson said Camilla’s doctors “have advised a short period of rest” and added that “with great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week”.

They added the Queen “very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal”.

“She apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result,” they said.

It is understood the Queen is currently resting at home and is under doctor’s supervision.

Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, has stepped in on Camilla’s behalf to attend the annual opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday.

The Queen has also withdrawn from a Buckingham Palace reception for Olympic and Paralympic athletes hosted by the King on the same evening.

Camilla recently returned from an overseas tour of Australia and Samoa. No further details regarding her illness or treatment have been released.

UK

Labour confirms U-turn on proposed ban on smoking and vaping in pub gardens

Published

6 hours ago

November 5, 2024

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Labour confirms U-turn on proposed ban on smoking and vaping in pub gardens

A proposed ban on vaping and smoking in pub gardens will not go ahead, the health secretary has confirmed.

Wes Streeting said the Labour government would not press ahead with the idea after it was floated over the summer and caused an outcry within the hospitality industry.

Back in August, Sir Keir Starmer said his government was considering a ban on outdoor smoking in a bid to bring down the 80,000 preventable deaths caused by smoking in the UK each year.

The ban would have covered smoking in outdoor restaurants and outside sports venues, hospitals, nightclubs, and in some small parks.

But speaking to Sky News this morning, Mr Streeting confirmed the U-turn and said: “We’re not going ahead or not proposing to go ahead with a [smoking] ban on outdoor hospitality.”

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He said the policy idea was a “leak of government discussion” over the summer and promoted a “really good debate about whether or not it would be proportionate” when taking into account the public health benefits, but also the potential downsides.

“I think people know the UK hospitality sector has taken a battering in recent years,” he added.

“And we don’t want to add to their pressure – so we’re not proposing to go ahead with an outdoor hospitality ban at this time.”

However, Mr Streeting did say that the smoking ban would be extended to some outdoor spaces, including schools, hospitals and children’s playgrounds.

It comes as the government today introduces a “groundbreaking” bill that aims to create the “first-ever smoke-free generation”.

The Tobacco and Vapes bill, which was first introduced by Rishi Sunak but was dropped due to the general election, will prevent anyone who was born on or after 1 January 2009 from buying tobacco.

The ban will effectively raise the legal age for buying cigarettes in England by one year every year, until it applies to the whole population.

The policy to create a “smoke-free generation” was seen as a defining one of Mr Sunak‘s premiership and caused controversy within Tory ranks, particularly the more libertarian wing of the party.

The bill will also create limits on the sale and marketing of vapes to children, while separate environmental legislation will be introduced to ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes by next summer.

The health secretary said “clamping down on the scourge of youth vaping” with licensing, tougher enforcement and a ban on the marketing of vapes to children and young people was “happily, an area of broad cross-party consensus”.

“I first proposed the generational ban for children, when I was the shadow health secretary,” he said.

“To my delight and surprise, Rishi Sunak took it up as prime minister and Conservative leader.

“I hope that cross-party support will sustain a new leader of the Conservative Party, but we’ll find out in the coming weeks.”

UK

Powys crash: Safety system ‘blocked’ before fatal train collision

Published

6 hours ago

November 5, 2024

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Powys crash: Safety system 'blocked' before fatal train collision

A safety system was “blocked” during a fatal train crash in Powys, an initial investigation has found.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has published its initial findings into last month’s collision, in which one person died.

David Tudor Evans, 66, was described as a “lovely guy, full of life and enjoyment”.

A further 15 people were taken to hospital for treatment after the crash near Talerddig, police said.

The collision – at around 7.26pm on 21 October – involved the 6.31pm Transport for Wales service from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and the 7.09pm Transport for Wales service from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.

The RAIB said the units were fitted with wheel slide protection systems – described as being similar to anti-lock braking systems in cars – and an automatic sanding system.

Sand is discharged automatically via hoses when a wheel slide is detected during braking – creating more friction at the wheel-rail interface.

The on-train data recorder shows the wheel slide started during braking and was also present after the driver made an emergency brake demand.

An inspection of the sanding system fitted to Aberystwyth-bound train 1J25 showed the leading vehicle’s sanding hoses were blocked.

The RAIB says they were apparently unable to discharge sand.

The ongoing investigation is also looking at the speed at which the trains were travelling when they collided.

Initial enquiries suggest the westbound train was travelling at a speed of between 15mph and 24mph, while the eastbound train was travelling at a speed of 6mph.

The RAIB says its investigation will look at the sequence of events which led to the crash.

As part of the probe, the agency will look at factors including the actions of those involved, the level of wheel-rail adhesion, and the behaviour of both trains during and after the crash.

In a joint statement, Transport for Wales and Network Rail said they have “fully cooperated” with the British Transport Police, the Office of Rail and Road and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.

“As investigations are currently still ongoing, we’ll continue to work together with investigators to understand what happened and await the full conclusion and recommendations of the investigation,” a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said safety was the “main priority” for both companies and they had “carried out enhanced checks to the trains and the railway line”.

“At this early stage of the investigation, it’s fundamental that we await the findings of the full report and show sensitivity towards our customers, colleagues, the local community and the families of those affected by the incident,” they added.