West Yorkshire Police officer 'tipped off' about sex offence inquiry
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had carefully reviewed all of the material passed on by police but concluded there was not enough evidence to charge the suspect with any offence.The woman said she felt the investigation was flawed, adding: "I was told that because he'd been tipped off, they'd made the decision not to arrest him on Monday or seize any of his electronics because there was no element of surprise."It just didn't make any sense to me that they wouldn't take his electronics, but, ironically, throughout the process I was repeatedly asked to hand mine in or provide information off them."In an email seen by the BBC, West Yorkshire Police said the CPS needed to see accounts, notes or statements from the woman's support workers and counsellor.The correspondence also asks her to provide details of all previous sexual partners because "they will need to be spoken to" and asks her to consent to a full phone data download.
'A woman scorned'
The woman has also criticised the language used during the investigation."I have been asked if I am a woman scorned, I have been asked what I'm normally like in bed," she said."I have pushed back about the appropriateness of how things have been dealt with and I've felt the whole way through like I've constantly had to defend myself."West Yorkshire Police said a file of available evidence had been submitted to the CPS, which reviewed it and advised no charges would be brought.In a statement, the CPS said: "We understand the importance of focusing investigations on the suspect, not the complainant, and not seeking material from complainants inappropriately.""Any material requested from the complainant was to help support her account of what had happened," a spokesperson added.
The Victim Support charity has called for changes to the way allegations against officers are handled and said independence was "crucial" to investigations.Michaela-Clare Addison, its national sexual violence lead, said: "At the very least, a different police force should be investigating because it really makes that person feel they have been listened to and it's going to be investigated properly."The Survive charity, which supports victims of sexual violence, said officers must be mindful of the language used and investigations should not be focused on the complainant. "Very few survivors of sexual offences report to the police," said chief executive officer Mags Godderidge. "With those that do, it's not uncommon for them to say they found the experience retraumatising."
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- The Guardian
UK's anti-corruption champion to go to offshore haven on fact-finding mission
The Foreign Office will dispatch the UK's anti-corruption champion, Margaret Hodge, to the British Virgin Islands (BVIs) to find out why the offshore haven is dragging its feet on proposals designed to fight financial crime. Several of the UK's semi-autonomous British overseas territories missed last month's deadline to implement new registers of corporate ownership, a measure targeting the secrecy regimes campaigners say benefit criminals and kleptocrats. But, while territories such as Anguilla and Bermuda are understood to be on the verge of complying, Foreign Office ministers are running out of patience with the BVIs' slow progress. Companies based on the islands have appeared in multiple international investigations into alleged wrongdoing, including the Paradise Papers and revelations about alleged tax evasion by the Russian oligarch and former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. On Wednesday, the day after meeting leaders of the overseas territories, the Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said he would send the veteran anti-corruption campaigner Lady Hodge to the islands on a 'fact-finding' mission. 'This government is committed to tackling illicit finance and working with our overseas territories is crucial to addressing this issue in the UK and overseas,' said Doughty. 'Some of our overseas territories are making progress towards transparent, accessible registers of company ownership, but we have made clear we need to see rapid, consistent progress across the board. 'As an immediate next step, I have asked Baroness Hodge to undertake a fact-finding visit to the British Virgin Islands and report back to me. I will consider further steps carefully in light of the findings.' Hodge, 80, was named the UK's anti-corruption champion in December last year in recognition of her record in combating illicit finance and advocating for transparency in Britain's offshore financial havens in particular. Hodge, who has held six ministerial posts, was the Labour MP for Barking from 1994 until she stood down before the general election last year. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has vowed to lift the veil of corporate secrecy that allows people to disguise their business dealings in jurisdictions such as the BVIs. Successive governments have been pushing overseas territories, and a separate group of crown dependencies, such as Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, to introduce fully publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership (Parbos). At a meeting in London last November, five overseas territories, including the BVIs, promised to introduce legitimate interest access registers of beneficial interests (Liarbos) as a prelude to further steps. A spokesperson for the BVIs' government said: 'We continue to collaborate closely with international partners, including the UK government, working together to uphold high standards and protect our financial system. 'This week's productive talks in London between premier Natalio Wheatley and minister Stephen Doughty reflect our shared commitment to strengthening governance and democracy in the Virgin Islands. We look forward to building on this cooperation in a spirit of mutual respect.' The Guardian has approached Hodge for comment.
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
Sunderland
Men in court after women die following care home crash Two care home residents, a woman in her 80s and another in her 90s, died a day after the crash.
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Married doctor's 'affair' with another man ends in mayhem and MURDER as shocking footage of her in scrubs emerges
A gynecologist, her husband and a businessman have been arrested in connection to the murder of the physician's lover, whom she was caught on camera kissing outside her home in Sorriso, Brazil. The Mato Grosso Civil Police carried out the arrests Tuesday, three months following the death of Ivan Bonotto, 35, who on March 22 was lured to a bar owned by the doctor's husband and stabbed. Bonotto suffered multiple stab wounds and remained under observation at Sorriso Regional Hospital, where he died after going into cardiac arrest on April 13. Dr. Sabrina de Mello, a mother-of-two, is being investigated for procedural fraud, the Mato Gross Civil Police said. Her husband, Gabriel Tacca, is said to have plotted the murder while his friend and businessman, Danilo Guimarães, reportedly killed Bonnatto. Authorities said that Bonotto was a very good friend of Tacca and carried a secretive relationship with Dr. de Mello. A security camera positioned at the family residence showed Bonnatto pulling into the garage on March 9. Dr. de Mello and Bonotto were filmed kissing in front of entrance and later enter the home. They later walked out together and kissed before Bonotto departed. After learning of the affair, Tacca reportedly contracted Guimarães to murder Bonotto, police said. As part of the plot to kill Bonnatto, Tacca and Guimarães staged a bar brawl and lured Bonotto, who was repeatedly stabbed in the back by Guimarães. Bonotto was rushed to private hospital, where surveillance video showed Dr. de Mello arrived wearing a set of blue scrubs to blend in with the facility staff as they were transporting the victim to the operating room. Dr. de Mello removed Bonotto's cell phone and deleted several messages and a video that showed Tacca and Guimarães pretending to fight. The police said that Dr. de Mello used her professional credentials to gain access to the medical facility and clear the suspects of suspicion. Dr. de Mello maintained possession of Bonotto's phone for three days before she handed it over to his family. She told the police that she deleted the messages because she only wanted 'to protect the victim.' 'The victim's cell phone was practically reset and we were able to prove that there was actually a fabricated story about a man being cheated on,' police chief Bruno Brança said Tuesday. 'We're looking at the dynamics of the crime. The bar fight never happened, and the victim was stabbed next to the bar owner, who claimed he didn't know anything, that he hadn't seen it.' Tacca and Guimarães voluntarily turned themselves after the incident. Tacca told cops that the fight was sparked by an argument over liquor that was being consumed at the bar, and told the agents that he did not know who Guimarães and Bonotto were. Guimarães was questioned and told the police that he stabbed Bonotto to protect himself from being harmed. 'After the crime, the bar owner and the person who stabbed him remained in the distributor talking for one minute and 42 seconds,' Brança said. 'After the person left, the bar owner waited another 11 minutes, with the victim in critical condition, to take her to the hospital. The claim that he had called the police and fire department is false. There was no connection in the records.' 'What we know is that the story about ç bar fight is a lie,' Brança added. 'There was no fight, no self-defense, no racist abuse. What happened was an attack from behind, which we believe was planned.'
