Gaia Pope's family call for alleged rapist review

The household of Gaia Pope-Sutherland are calling for an autarkic probe into her alleged rape.

Miss Pope, 19, was recovered dormant 11 days aft she went missing successful Swanage, Dorset, successful 2017 having been diagnosed with post-traumatic accent disorder.

The constabulary watchdog said it would see immoderate caller complaints referred to it implicit Miss Pope's case.

Miss Pope's relative Marienna Pope-Weidemann said Miss Pope reported the offence aft suffering a intelligence wellness situation triggered by the experience.

Dorset Police chose not to prosecute the report, Ms Pope-Weidemann said.

She added: "I deliberation the determination to instrumentality nary further enactment connected Gaia's rape lawsuit was devastating for her and wherefore she was truthful acrophobic astir it was due to the fact that we knew determination were different victims.

"In presumption of the constabulary implicit the adjacent 2 years what we saw was a accordant and repeated nonaccomplishment to recognise her vulnerability.

"We are calling for a existent autarkic probe due to the fact that it is perfectly successful the nationalist involvement for america each to recognize however this could beryllium allowed to happen."

Ms Pope-Weidemann said the constabulary had discriminated against Miss Pope by allegedly hanging up connected her erstwhile she called them connected the time she went missing.

"Even connected the precise time Gaia went missing, she had interaction with the police, she was showing wide signs of being successful an acute intelligence wellness crisis," she said.

"Not lone did they not instrumentality immoderate action, they discriminated against and hung up connected her."

The household besides alleged that during Miss Pope's submission to hospital, "she had been repeatedly sexually harassed by different antheral patient".

"She disclosed that to staff, and not lone did they neglect to instrumentality due safeguarding action, they didn't adjacent log the incident," Ms Pope-Weidemann said.

As portion of the family's Justice for Gaia campaign, the household are demanding changes including improved backing for intelligence wellness services and the instauration of a specializer portion dedicated to investigating rape and intersexual offences crossed each constabulary forces successful the UK.

"We privation to spot constabulary forces bringing successful the 'Gaia Principle' to marque definite erstwhile they get reports of superior enactment offences they are obliged to cheque for different akin allegations from different imaginable victims and to contiguous each those cases unneurotic arsenic a full to the Crown Prosecution Service," Ms Pope-Weidemann said.

Failing to travel the process should beryllium a constabulary misconduct matter.

The run besides includes a manifesto for alteration crossed intelligence wellness and societal enactment successful Dorset and nationwide.

An inquest into Miss Pope-Sutherland's decease recovered she had died of hypothermia wrong 18 hours of going missing connected 7 November 2017. Her assemblage was recovered 11 days aboriginal successful undergrowth betwixt Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it antecedently investigated complaints from Miss Pope's household astir however Dorset Police dealt with the allegation of rape.

The watchdog said it provided the household with presumption of notation astatine the commencement of the probe successful 2018 and "no issues oregon concerns were raised with the investigation's scope then, oregon astatine immoderate consequent meeting".

Following Miss Pope's family's latest telephone for an autarkic investigation, a spokesperson for the IOPC said: "We person had nary nonstop attack from Gaia Pope's household concerning immoderate wider review.

"Any caller ailment referred to america would beryllium considered and assessed arsenic to what further enactment whitethorn beryllium required by the IOPC."

The watchdog said it "carefully" examined however Dorset Police investigated the rape allegation.

But it added: "While we recovered the constabulary probe could person been much thorough, immoderate failings by idiosyncratic officers did not magnitude to breaches of the nonrecreational standards of behaviour.

"We recovered show issues for 4 officers for immoderate inadequacies, including not contacting each witnesses, not submitting quality reports and insufficient record-keeping. "

The IOPC said it established that Dorset Police did informally talk to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) astir the rape investigation, "but determination was insufficient grounds to merit a ceremonial referral to them".

In a connection an IOPC spokesperson added: "However, we did find that Dorset Police failed to counsel Gaia's household of the Victims' Right to Review (VRR) pursuing their determination not to notation to the CPS.

"We established that the closing codification utilized to finalise the probe connected constabulary systems did not tally with hunt presumption utilized by the Victims' Bureau to place cases suitable for VRR.

"Consequently, the bureau did not constitute to the household to pass them of their close to petition a reappraisal of the determination to instrumentality nary further enactment successful respect of the rape report."

The IOPC recommended Dorset Police ensured its officers knew the hunt presumption utilized by the bureau.

"This proposal was accepted by the unit and volition spell immoderate mode to reducing the hazard of the aforesaid happening to different victims successful specified circumstances successful the future," the IOPC said.

Dorset Police said it recognised that its contiguous effect to the missing idiosyncratic enquiry should person been amended managed.

The force's Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said that since Miss Pope's decease and the IOPC's probe the unit had delivered "many changes" to its ways of moving and has introduced dedicated missing radical teams.

"We are perfectly committed to supporting victims of intersexual offences and we are continuing to enactment with colleagues successful the Crown Prosecution Service to amended the services offered to those who study rape and different superior intersexual offences," Ms De Reya said.

In a statement, she added: "We instrumentality reports of rape offences highly earnestly and volition bash each we tin to guarantee offences are thoroughly investigated and offenders are brought to justice. We privation victims to cognize that we are present for you.

"We would powerfully promote anyone who has been the unfortunate of a intersexual offence to travel guardant and study it to the force."