Woman condemns ‘catastrophic’ police failures six years after brutal rape
Exclusive: Amanda’s case was closed by South Yorkshire Police twice and she was forced to use the ‘Victims’ Right to Review’ procedure four times before the Crown Prosecution Service agreed to look at the case
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A woman who was brutally raped has spoken out about a catalogue of “catastrophic” police failures that led to a six-year wait before her attacker was convicted.
Amanda, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, was viciously assaulted by Paul Green on their second date after they originally met online. Seriously injured, she immediately went to a hospital. She then reported the crime to South Yorkshire Police.
But her case was closed twice by the police, and she was forced to use the ‘Victims’ Right to Review’ procedure four times before the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) agreed to look at the case.
South Yorkshire Police has since apologised for its failings.
Green, who is 50, was jailed for 16 years for rape, assault, and two counts of making a person engage in sexual activity without gaining consent in a trial at Sheffield Crown Court. He was also put on the sex offender register for life.
A detective who took part in the initial police investigation was found guilty of misconduct and given a written warning last month in the wake of Amanda’s complaints.
Speaking after Green’s conviction, Amanda said: “I have continued to fight this case, accepting the horrific effects of reliving this again and again, because I cannot and will not accept for my daughters and all women that this is OK. It is not OK.”
She accused South Yorkshire Police and the CPS of gaslighting her into giving up instead of confessing to their failings, as she warned that their shortcomings have had “catastrophic” repercussions for her.
Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Hodgman of South Yorkshire Police told The Independent: “We are profoundly sorry that following such a horrific ordeal, Amanda subsequently faced a long and difficult process to finally secure justice.”
DCI Hodgman said the force is “steadfastly committed to the continuous improvement” of its handling of rape and serious sexual offences, but that “cases like this demonstrate there is more to be done”.
A spokesperson for the CPS described rape as a “devastating crime” and Green’s attack on Amanda as an “appalling assault”.
Amanda, who was supported by the legal charity the Centre for Women’s Justice, said Green’s attack has had an “overwhelming” impact on her life.
Had any person on the street inflicted the violence and degradation I was subjected to that night, there would have been no question as to their guilt. So to understand that as long as they rape you too, they can claim you consented to your own abuse, horrifies me
“Had any person on the street inflicted the violence and degradation I was subjected to that night, there would have been no question as to their guilt,” she said. “So to understand that as long as they rape you too, they can claim you consented to your own abuse, horrifies me.”
Appearing via video link to read her statement, she said: “He wanted to break me, and I am broken.”
Amanda met Green after they linked up on a dating website in 2018. Green became violent and sexually abusive on their second date at his flat.
He raped, threatened, verbally abused, beat and strangled Amanda as well as smearing vomit onto her face among other degrading acts.
Judge Rachael Harrison told Green that she was certain he had planned to take advantage of Amanda while she was in a vulnerable position, and that his violence and “unpleasant, threatening and abusive” behaviour had extended “far beyond” anything Amanda had consented to.
Amanda fled from Green’s flat after he fell asleep, and arrived at hospital with injuries and in severe pain. She immediately told medical staff and the police about the sexual abuse she had experienced.
Around a year later, it emerged that South Yorkshire Police had closed her case. Although the police acknowledged that she had endured violence at the hands of Green, they said it would be hard to persuade a jury that she had not consented – an assertion that was in part founded on an examination of Green’s electronic devices, which revealed that he wanted to enter into a relationship with Amanda.
Given wider evidence of the increasing normalisation of violence in sex, both in real life and online, it is reassuring that neither the judge nor the jury seem to have accepted Mr Green’s defence that this was an acceptable way to treat a woman
Amanda requested a formal review, which concluded that the case should be handed to the CPS for a charging decision, but her case was yet again closed without ever being referred.
It then emerged that the police had misplaced CCTV footage and important documents. The CPS refused to prosecute the case twice, and Amanda had to go through the “Victims’ Right to Review” procedure four times before it agreed to look at the case.
The first trial of Mr Green led to a hung jury. He was only convicted by a second jury after a retrial took place.
Kate Ellis, a solicitor at the Centre for Women’s Justice, who has represented Amanda since 2019, said: “Given wider evidence of the increasing normalisation of violence in sex, both in real life and online, it is reassuring that neither the judge nor the jury seem to have accepted Mr Green’s defence that this was an acceptable way to treat a woman.”
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)