Plymouth rape survivor sues police

They had disclosed her details online

Devon and Cornwall Police have been sued by a woman who was gang-raped by men claiming to be players from the Welsh rugby team.

The victim, known only as 'Jane,' a name that has been changed to protect her identity, was just 17 when she was attacked in a Plymouth hotel in 1978.

The law protects rape survivors from identification forever, but in this case breached the woman's right to anonymity.

Devon and Cornwall Police admitted misusing her personal information and has paid her a six-figure sum in costs and damages.

"What's happened to me is a second rape," Jane told the BBC.

In 1978, she met a man and agreed to go to his hotel with him where they had consensual sex. He told her she was part of a touring rugby team from Wales. Shortly after, more than 10 men forced their way into the room before six or seven of them raped her.

Jane reported what happened to police, first in 1993 and again in 2015. "The first investigation unbeknown to me had been shut down four weeks after it had commenced," she told the BBC.

"I came forward 20 years later and asked to see the records of that first investigation, to find that there were no records and that I didn't exist."

Trying to track down the officers involved in the 1993 investigation, detectives in the second investigation arranged to have details of her rapes, including her name and address, published on an unsecure website for retired police officers and staff. 

In 2017, senior detectives visited Jane at her home and told her about the publication."I went into shock," she said.

She subsequently sued the force, which admitted misusing her information and has paid her substantial compensation.

In a statement, Devon and Cornwall Police said: "In adherence with the Sexual Offences [Amendment] Act 1992, Devon and Cornwall Police are unable to disclose details of any victim of a sexual offence to a third party without their explicit consent. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to comment further on this matter.
 
"The chief constable is always willing to meet with a victim of crime where it has been identified there has been a significant force failure."