Woman raped by ex-partner after seeking help under Clare's law calls for quicker response times

Survivor 'Michelle' has spoken to our correspondent Rob Smith and we have used an actor to protect her identity.

A woman who was raped by her ex-boyfriend in the two months she waited for a police background check on him has called for response times to be quicker for victims.

The mother, whose identity has been protected, was so worried about Matthew Nicholson's controlling behaviour she asked for information under Clare's Law, which can alert someone if their partner has a violent past.

Michelle - not her real name - says Lancashire Police took 62 days to get back to her - in that time she was raped by Nicholson in her own home.

The convicted rapist, 36, ignored Michelle's refusal to have sex when she repeatedly told him she did not want to.

"He then raped me while my child was in the room next door", she said. "He still doesn't have one ounce of remorse in his body. Not one bit."

At the time of the attack, Michelle was waiting to hear if Nicholson had a history of violence and abuse.

She learned at the end of his trial that he had been found guilty of attacking an ex-partner, but that conviction came after her Clare's Law request.

Michelle explains: "I rang Claire's Law for a disclosure in the November, three weeks after that he raped me.

"They only gave it [the background check] to me at the beginning of January when I was on my way to the police station to do an interview. It was too late by the time they'd rang me."

What is Clare's Law?

Clare's Law was created in the name of Clare Wood, from Salford, who was murdered by a former partner in 2009. He had a violent history she was unaware of.

The law - or the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) - deals primarily with convictions for violent or abusive behaviour.

Under the scheme, individuals can ask police to check whether a new or existing partner has a violent past (the ‘right to ask’).

If police checks show a person may be at risk of domestic violence from their partner, the police will consider disclosing the information.

Michelle now wants a quicker response for others in the future and to empower women to report rape and see cases through to court.

"It does make you feel angry because I think when there's people out there that are dangerous, I think women should should be told a lot quicker. They shouldn't have to wait."

Nicholson, who is 36 and from Ingol in Lancashire, is now serving time in prison for raping and sexually assaulting Michelle.

The checks police made under Clare's Law were meant to take no more than 35 days at the time of Michelle's request.

After tweaks to the scheme in 2022, police should not take more than 28 days, but one charity supporting victims of sex crimes says the check system needs to be quicker.

Jo Wood, from RASA Merseyside, said: "If someone is actually going to the police to ask for a disclosure under Clare's Law they are already very suspicious of their partner, or potential partner.

"In that circumstance, it would be really useful if that was treated the same as an emergency domestic violence report.

"If it was taken that seriously - and immediately - it could potentially stop something from happening before it happened."

Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Connaughton, Head of Vulnerability and Public Protection at Lancashire Police, said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the victim and I apologise if they feel we let them down in this case.

“Following the request for disclosure under Clare’s Law made on 10 November we contacted the victim within 48 hours and provided safeguarding advice, which we attempted to follow up later that same month.

“We were then recontacted by the victim on 21 December and she reported she had been raped by the offender in September and December.

"The offender was subsequently investigated, charged and convicted. A formal disclosure was not made in this case following discussion with the victim.

“We agree that it would be beneficial for disclosures to protect vulnerable people to be made more quickly and as a result we have reviewed our processes.

"This review has resulted in more specialist staff, utilising new technologies and streamlining what we do. We are determined to keep vulnerable people safe.

“In order to ensure we have fully learned any lessons from this case we are reviewing the service we offered and will be considering a referral to the IOPC, if appropriate.”