Rhianan Rudd: MI5 had evidence teen terror suspect was exploited

Evidence showing the grooming and intersexual exploitation of a schoolgirl was handed to MI5 months earlier she was charged with coercion offences, a BBC probe has found.

The prosecution of Rhianan Rudd was aboriginal dropped aft the Home Office concluded she was a unfortunate of exploitation.

Rhianan, who was 15 erstwhile she became the youngest miss charged with panic offences successful the UK, took her ain beingness successful a children's location successful May 2022.

Her parent says investigators should person treated her girl "as a unfortunate alternatively than a terrorist".

The lawsuit raises questions astir however the UK deals with the occupation of children progressive successful extremism, according to the elder lawyer liable for reviewing panic laws.

At the property of 14, Rhianan Rudd became absorbed by right-wing extremism. Her parent Emily Carter remembers her arsenic a "lovely girl" who adored horses. But past she began to explicit racist and antisemitic beliefs, Ms Carter says.

"If you didn't person blonde hairsbreadth and bluish eyes - Aryan arsenic they accidental - she didn't privation to cognize you; you were an inferior race, you shouldn't person been alive," her parent recalls.

She says her girl was taking successful utmost views "like a sponge". "She was changing herself; that's not Rhianan," she says. "She was a kid who fixated connected things."

Rhianan, who was calved successful Essex and aboriginal moved to Derbyshire, had trouble gathering relationships and "struggled successful life", Ms Carter says. She was besides diagnosed with autism.

Rhianan had tally distant from location successful the past and determination was societal work engagement with the family. Her parent acknowledges she made mistakes but "always tried to bash her best".

By September 2020, Ms Carter had go truthful acrophobic by Rhianan's mindset that she referred her to Prevent, the authorities de-radicalisation scheme, aft she admitted downloading a bomb-making manual.

Within a month, Rhianan was arrested by antagonistic panic detectives and her little engagement with Prevent had to end. She was questioned, bailed arsenic a coercion suspect, and was nary longer capable to be school.

For immoderate time, she had been talking to older radical online, including an American called Christopher Cook, who promoted a violent signifier of neo-Nazism, and formed a combat compartment to transportation retired attacks.

Evidence shows the then-partner of Rhianan's parent besides had an influence. Ms Carter says this was kept from her.

The partner, American Dax Mallaburn, had been portion of a achromatic supremacist situation pack successful the US. He met Rhianan's parent via a pen pal strategy for prisoners.

Before Rhianan was arrested, Mallaburn's narration with her parent had breached down and helium returned to the US. But the BBC has discovered that Cook and Mallaburn had been successful contact, with Cook telling him to thatch Rhianan the "right way".

BBC News investigates the lawsuit of Rhianan Rudd - the youngest miss charged with panic offences successful the UK.

During constabulary interviews, Rhianan described being coerced and groomed, including sexually, and having sent explicit images of herself to Cook. The maltreatment she described would yet effect successful a ceremonial authorities uncovering of exploitation.

Under modern slavery laws, definite nationalist bodies similar the constabulary are required to notify the Home Office astir immoderate imaginable victims of exploitation they encounter.

However, successful the months earlier Rhianan was charged, nary of the organisations progressive referred her to the specializer Home Office portion that considers specified cases.

This was not owed to a deficiency of information.

The BBC has recovered that, astir the clip of Rhianan's arrest, MI5 received grounds showing she had been exploited - including sexually - by Cook.

An FBI probe had uncovered messages and images from Cook's devices showing Rhianan being groomed, coerced and exploited. The FBI handed the worldly to MI5.

Rhianan spent implicit six months connected bail waiting for a charging decision. Her parent says this play led to a diminution successful Rhianan's intelligence health, with instances of self-harm, moving away, and attempted suicide. Derbyshire societal services were progressive and she was moved into care.

In April 2021, much than six months aft the arrest, she was charged with six coercion offences for having earlier possessed instructions for making explosives and weapons. Prosecutors alleged 1 acceptable of instructions were connected to a imaginable planned attack.

Days aft she was charged, erstwhile newly-appointed defence lawyers intervened, Derbyshire Council referred Rhianan to the Home Office arsenic a imaginable unfortunate of exploitation.

It took a further 7 months for a determination to beryllium made. When it came, the Home Office concluded she had been trafficked and exploited.

In precocious December 2021 the prosecution was halted.

Rhianan is portion of a inclination of increasing numbers of children, often progressive successful online right-wing extremism, being investigated by MI5 and police.

In the lawsuit of different boy, a pre-sentence study from experts said it was "likely that helium did not spot the wider ramifications of his activities, present seamlessly replaced seemingly by interests specified arsenic Dad's Army".

Cases involving children are complex. A kid mightiness person been groomed and exploited, but nevertheless airs a genuine hazard of harm to different people.

Debates astir trafficking and exploitation are besides taking spot successful migration cases concerning young women appealing the removal of their British citizenship aft they went to Syria to articulation ISIS.

In the lawsuit of Shamima Begum, who travelled aged 15, the authorities has argued against claims of trafficking and said she is simply a information threat. Her lawyers accidental she was trafficked and sexually exploited.

Few children who are charged with panic offences extremity up being imprisoned. The process of investigation, apprehension and prosecution tin instrumentality galore months, and good implicit a twelvemonth successful immoderate cases.

Jonathan Hall KC, the autarkic reviewer of coercion legislation, says that successful 2020/2021 lone 1 kid who committed a coercion offence was jailed, with each the others "eventually fixed non-custodial sentences".

He says the question needs to beryllium asked astir whether the existent attack is effective. He suggests changes successful the instrumentality that would let constabulary to accidental to a kid panic fishy that they would either beryllium prosecuted oregon they could judge an injunction. He says these could, for example, bounds mobile telephone use, necessitate the usage of monitoring bundle and engagement with a mentor.

"That tin beryllium done truly quickly, and support them retired of the transgression justness strategy altogether," helium says.

Rhianan's parent thinks her girl should ne'er person been charged.

She says constabulary "obviously" person to analyse and hunt for evidence, but she believes they should person subsequently dealt with it "completely differently".

"They should person seen her arsenic a unfortunate alternatively than a terrorist. She's a child, an autistic child. She should person been treated arsenic a kid that had been groomed and sexually exploited."

Christopher Cook, the American who exploited Rhianan, has pleaded blameworthy successful the US to a neo-Nazi violent crippled on with others to destruct a powerfulness grid. He had been connected bail awaiting sentencing.

But the BBC has established that the tribunal successful Ohio lone precocious became alert of Cook's predatory behaviour towards Rhianan, which had not been portion of the archetypal lawsuit against him contempt the FBI's long-standing cognition of his abuse. After the tribunal learned of his behaviour, Cook was placed successful custody successful December up of sentencing.

After the prosecution of Rhianan was abandoned, she chose to proceed surviving successful her Nottinghamshire children's location and began engaging with the Prevent scheme.

But determination were signs that each was not well.

In the weeks earlier her death, Rhianan asked her parent to assistance her interaction a neo-Nazi extremist successful the US. Her parent reported it to the children's home, which is tally by backstage steadfast Blue Mountain Homes. She says she was past told societal services and constabulary had decided to fto interaction instrumentality place. It is unclear if it did.

Her parent had warned Derbyshire Council astir the hazard of Rhianan taking her ain life. In emails to a societal idiosyncratic successful 2021, she wrote: "I anticipation she doesn't effort termination herself erstwhile successful her country connected her own."

She stated successful the emails that Rhianan had entree to ligatures.

Ms Carter says she saw Rhianan days earlier her decease and was truthful acrophobic by her quality that she contacted the home.

She says she warned unit that her girl was "going to bash something" and asked them to ticker her. The manager said they would "find retired what's going on" and told her not to worry, she says.

But aboriginal that week, she says, 3 constabulary officers were "standing successful my surviving country telling maine that my girl died by hanging".

In Rhianan's country astatine the children's home, entree to items that could beryllium utilized arsenic ligatures were banned owed to the hazard of self-harm and suicide, but she gained entree to one.

Aged 16, she was recovered dormant successful May implicit 12 hours aft she retired to her country the nighttime before.

An inquest is owed to instrumentality spot into her death. No day has been set.

The organisations contacted by the BBC said they could not remark connected the details of our probe until the inquest is complete.