Woman condemns ‘catastrophic’ police failure six years after brutal rape

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A woman who was brutally raped has spoken out about a series of “catastrophic” police failures that led to a six-year wait for her attacker to be convicted.

Amanda, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, was brutally attacked by Paul Green on their second date after initially meeting online.

She was seriously injured, fled immediately to hospital and reported the crime to South Yorkshire Police in 2018.

But her case was closed twice by police and she had to use the Victim’s Right to Review process four times before the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) agreed to review the case.

South Yorkshire Police have since apologized for their lapses.

Green, 50, was sentenced to 16 years in prison at a trial at Sheffield Crown Court for rape, assault and two counts of forcing a person to engage in sexual activity without obtaining consent. He was also forced to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

A detective involved in the initial police investigation was found guilty of misconduct and given a written warning last month following Amanda’s complaints.

Speaking after his sentencing, Amanda said: “I have continued to fight this case and accept the terrible repercussions it continues to bring because I cannot and will not accept that this is OK for my daughters and all women. ” It is not okay.”

She accused South Yorkshire Police and the CPS of making her give up rather than admitting her own mistakes, while warning that her mistakes were having a “catastrophic” impact on her.

South Yorkshire Police Chief Inspector Rebecca Hodgman said The Independent: “We are deeply sorry that after such a terrible ordeal, Amanda then had to endure a long and difficult process to finally achieve justice.”

Ms Hodgman said police were “unwaveringly committed to continuous improvement” in tackling rape and serious sexual offenses, but “cases like this demonstrate that more needs to be done”.

While a CPS spokesman described rape as a “devastating crime” and Green’s attack on Amanda as an “appalling attack”.

Amanda, who received support from the nonprofit Center for Women’s Justice, said Green’s attack had had an “overwhelming” impact on her life.

“If someone on the street had perpetrated the violence and humiliation that I was subjected to that night, there would have been no doubt about their guilt,” she said. “So to understand that as long as they rape you too, they can claim that you consented to your own abuse is horrifying to me.”

Appearing via videolink to read her statement, she said: “He wanted to break me and I am broken.”

Amanda met Green after linking up on a dating website in 2018 – with Green becoming violent and sexually abusive at his apartment on their second date.

He raped, threatened, insulted, beat and strangled Amanda and, among other things, smeared vomit on her face.

Judge Rachael Harrison told Green she was sure he had planned to take advantage of Amanda while she was in a vulnerable position and his violence and “unpleasant, threatening and abusive” behavior went “far beyond anything” she was capable of had agreed.

After Green fell asleep, Amanda fled Green’s apartment and was hospitalized with injuries and severe pain. She immediately told doctors and police about the sexual abuse she had experienced.

About a year later it emerged that South Yorkshire Police had closed their case. Although police acknowledged that she had suffered violence at the hands of Green, they said it was difficult to convince the jury that she had not consented – in part because an examination of Green’s electronic devices revealed that he had one Wanted to have a relationship with Amanda.

Amanda requested a formal review of this decision and concluded that the case should be referred to the CPS for prosecution. However, her case was then closed again without ever being forwarded.

It then emerged that the police had misplaced CCTV footage and important documents. The CPS refused to prosecute the case twice and Amanda used the Victims’ Right to Review process four times before they agreed to review the case.

Mr Green’s first trial resulted in a hung jury – and he was only convicted by a second jury after a new trial took place.

Kate Ellis, a lawyer from the Center for Women’s Justice who has represented Amanda since 2019, said: “Given the broader evidence of the increasing normalization of sexual violence, both in real life and online, it is reassuring that neither the judge nor “The jury appeared to have accepted Mr Green’s defense that this was an acceptable way to treat a woman.”