Woman told by police 'nothing would come' of her rape complaint wins £8,000 GMP payout

A woman has received a £8,000 payout after a police officer told her "nothing would come" of her rape complaint.

She told how a Greater Manchester Police officer dismissed her fears and told her and her husband to meet her alleged attacker to 'set the record straight'.

Two officers went to see the woman, from Wigan, in July 2019, after she said she had woken up in a strange house and was fully undressed and in pain.

She said: "I tried to explain what had happened as best I could as I still couldn't make sense of what was going on and I was still feeling dizzy, even when officers arrived. I told them I thought I had been drugged and raped.

"The woman officer took me into a room on my own and advised me that reporting a rape meant 'it would be over mine and my family's heads for quite a while', that it would 'take a year to resolve' and that if it went to court 'nothing would come of it'.

"Then we went back in the other room and in front of everyone she said to my husband 'I recommend you go to him (the alleged attacker) and see if you can set the record straight'.

"I felt like I had been treated disgustingly, I was just a number not a person. My sexual violence support adviser says it’s the worst case she has ever dealt with. I have felt like giving up, it’s affected not just me but the whole family."

The woman, who believes her drink was spiked in a bar, phoned back the next day and insisted the matter be properly investigated.

She was eventually examined following an 11-hour wait and gave a statement, but says GMP has since given little update on the progress of the case.

GMP agreed an out-of-court settlement with no admission to the claims, said the woman's lawyers Hudgell Solicitors.

Associate solicitor Nicola