Gaia Pope-Sutherland's family call for ‘rapist’ probe review and accuse police of lying to jury

Gaia Pope-Sutherland's family have claimed police "lied" after her death and dismissed evidence that may have helped prosecute her alleged rapist as they called for an independent probe into the investigation.

Miss Pope-Sutherland, 19, ran away from home having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after reporting that she had been drugged and sexually attacked by a man when she was 16.

At the time of her disappearance in 2017 she was anxious about his imminent release from prison for unconnected sexual offences.

Miss Pope-Sutherland reported she had been raped after suffering a mental health crisis triggered by the experience, but police chose not to pursue a prosecution, Marienna Pope-Weidemann, her cousin, said.

Five years on, speaking at Doughty Street Chambers in London on Wednesday, Ms Pope-Weidemann said police were aware of numerous allegations against the man accused of grooming her as far back as 2014.

But the cases were treated in isolation and likely presented to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as instances of "he-said, she-said", according to the cousin.

The family are now calling for a "Gaia Principle" whereby officers must check if suspected sex offenders face multiple similar allegations or face disciplinary proceedings.

"I think the decision to take no further action on Gaia's rape case was devastating for her and why she was so concerned about it was because we knew there were other victims," Ms Pope-Weidemann said.

An inquest into Miss Pope-Sutherland's death found she had died of hypothermia within 18 hours of going missing from her home in Swanage, Dorset, on November 7 2017.

Her body was found 11 days later in undergrowth between Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point on the Dorset coast - an area her family had urged police to search as it was a favourite spot of her late grandfather.

Dorset Police apologised for mistakes made in its response to her disappearance, but a senior coroner directed the jury not to consider the force's failings as contributory factors in Miss Pope-Sutherland's death.

The inquest also heard a police search co-ordinator retrospectively altered search records relating to the disappearance.

Ms Pope-Weidemann said: "By any common sense definition, what they did was tamper with evidence, they lied to the jury, they lied to the IOPC."

She claimed the "litany" of police failings had included "(hanging) up" on Miss Pope-Sutherland when she called them on the day she went missing.

"Even on the very day Gaia went missing, she had contact with the police, she was showing clear signs of being in an acute mental health crisis," she said.

"Not only did they not take any action, they discriminated against and hung up on her."

Miss Pope-Sutherland's family are demanding changes to policing and health and social care services as part of their Justice For Gaia campaign.

These include improved funding for mental health services and the creation of a specialist unit dedicated to investigating rape and sexual offences within all police forces.

The family are also calling for an independent investigation of the police probe into the alleged rapist "and his associates".

Ms Pope-Weidemann added: "We asked for an independent review into the wider investigation into (him) and his associates in order to safeguard our community and address any failures.

"To this day the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has failed to do this... We are calling for a real independent investigation because it is absolutely in the public interest for us all to understand how this could be allowed to happen."

They say police were aware of significant number of other victims but that each case was dealt with "as a he-said, she-said, rather than what it was - a he-said, they-said".

"He was already supposed to be under investigation back in 2014 when he was allegedly grooming Gaia and who knows how many others.... we believe that many of these allegations including Gaia's were dealt with in isolation," Ms Pope-Weidemann said.

"(The alleged rapist) was convicted once again for further child sex offences based on evidence police had been in possession of for years but hadn't used - we don't know why."

Ms Pope-Weidemann claimed a culture of "misogyny" still pervades many police forces - as well as some NHS facilities.

"Right at the beginning when Gaia first disclosed the rape... doctors were already making notes about Gaia's so-called 'delusions' of sexual assault," she said.

"When she found that out it absolutely crushed her".

Miss Pope-Sutherland was "pathologised" and given personality diagnoses when she raised concerns with health services about the sexual violence, her cousin said.

"That's just a fancy way of saying 'the problem isn't what happened, what was done to you - it's in your head'," Ms Pope-Weidemann added.

"It left her feeling very isolated, very afraid and very hopeless."

The Justice For Gaia campaign includes a manifesto for change across mental health and social support in Dorset and nationwide.

The family is encouraging supporters to sign a petition demanding better investment and training in the handling of sexual abuse allegations by health services and the police.

A spokesperson for The Independent Office for Police Conduct, said: "We investigated complaints from Gaia Pope’s family about how Dorset Police dealt with an allegation of rape...

"We reviewed records and material and considered relevant force and national policies and procedures. We also spoke to three potential witnesses not approached by the original police investigation.

“While we found the police investigation could have been more thorough, any failings by individual officers did not amount to breaches of the professional standards of behaviour.

"In our view, accounts we obtained from additional witnesses would not have changed the police decision not to refer the matter to the CPS."

A spokesperson for Dorset Police, said: "During the course of the inquest, it was established that a search log had been retrospectively amended to create a fuller picture of all the areas where officers searched for Gaia after she was reported missing.

"The retrospective amendment was made to try and make the vast amount of information available easier to understand.

"All information available in relation to this was referred to the IOPC and it was passed back to the Force for review. The Professional Standards Department reviewed the matter and identified no misconduct."

They also said that Dorset Police are taking part in a national scheme called Operation Soteria to improve outcomes for victims. 

They added: "We are continuing to work with colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service to improve the services offered to those who report rape and other serious sexual offences.

"The Force has trained Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO) officers within their investigation teams. In addition, we have increased the number of Sexual Offence Liaison Officers (SOLOS) who are trained specialists in interviewing and supporting victims.

"We take reports of rape offences extremely seriously and will do all we can to ensure offences are thoroughly investigated and offenders are brought to justice. We want victims to know that we are here for you.

"We would strongly encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to come forward and report it to the Force."