Daughter raped by her own father receives £15,000 compensation from police after officers initially discouraged her from reporting him by telling her she would look like ‘the biggest slut around’

A woman who was raped by her father has received compensation and an apology from police after officers told her that if she reported him she would look like “the biggest slut around”.

For Carol Higgins, 55, a 39-year fight for justice finally ended after she was sexually abused at the age of 13 by her father, Elliot Appleyard, now 76.

He took her to a tattoo parlor to get his nickname tattooed on her shoulder – and put an engagement ring on her finger and promised her that they would “live happily ever after.”

The mother of two reported Appleyard to the police for the first time in 1985 – and four more times between 1984 and 2015. But it was not until 2019 that he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his crimes.

Ms Higgins says she was told by police in 1985 that her name would be “sullied” if she sought prosecution and that she would be considered “the biggest scumbag around”.

She launched civil proceedings against West Yorkshire Police four years ago over the way her case was handled between 2005 and 2019.

The police have now finally apologised for taking “too long” to bring Appleyard to court – and paid Mrs Higgins £15,000 compensation.

Police finally apologized in December 2023 for taking “too long” to address Carol’s “extremely serious and truthful allegations.”

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Carol, a writer from Penistone, Barnsley, said: “The apology was a huge relief and a huge relief for me – after battling with the police all this time.”

“I’m glad they’re taking responsibility for how they treated me. It was a big deal to get validation.

“Living without that validation has released a lot of negative energy in me. Hopefully I can now let go of some of that anger.”

As Leeds Crown Court heard in 2019, Appleyard raped the defenceless teenager between 1983 and 1985.

A jury of seven women and four men took less than two hours to unanimously find Appleyard guilty on 15 counts after a seven-day trial.

The father of three children was found guilty of five counts of rape and ten counts of indecent assault.

During the trial, prosecutor Hampton said the abuse “destroyed her entire adult life” and that she had received therapy for many years.

He said Appleyard, from Denby Dale, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, ruled the household through violence and threats of beatings.

Jurors were shown a recording of Miss Higgins’ police interview in which she told officers that her father wanted to “treat her like a wife” and that they would “live happily together until the end of their days”.

Ms Higgins said she was forced to wear her father’s wife’s engagement ring.

Ms Higgins, who now lives in Ackworth, wrote an autobiography called Conquering the Impossible: Making the Dream Come True, which was published in 2015.

Ms Higgins initiated civil proceedings because of the way her case was handled between 2005 and 2019.

She went to the police twice, in 2005 and 2012, before her case was finally investigated in 2015 and brought to trial in 2019.

As part of the settlement, which included a written apology, Carol received a payment of £15,000 from West Yorkshire Police.

The letter from John Robins, Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, states: “I am writing to you as Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police to sincerely apologise for the way you have been treated over the past 39 years.”

“There is no question that your extremely serious and truthful allegations took too long to come to court, resulting in a delay in the prosecution of your tormentor, and that this was not your fault.

“It is deeply regrettable that it has taken so long for your tormentor to be convicted.”

But Carol says no amount will ever be enough to make up for the last 39 years.

“The apology is welcome,” she added.

“But I think the £15,000 is a pretty rubbish sum for all that time, energy and all those years. I still feel the effects of that child abuse.

“I feel the pain of not having a father – all this grief and loss. What price can you really put on that?

“I fought against them and won. That’s how I stood up to them.”

West Yorkshire Police said: “The Chief Constable has apologised directly to the complainant on behalf of West Yorkshire Police and personally assured her that the force has learnt from the mistakes made in her case.”