Ex-chief constable Sue Sim slams her former police force for the way they handled her daughter’s rape case
A FORMER police chief has issued a complaint against her old force over the way her daughter’s rape case was handled, claiming they mistreated her after it was reported.
Retired chief Sue Sim’s complaints come after the force was ordered to reopen 54 rape cases when a report found a significant number of complaints made by women might not have been sufficiently investigated.
In an interview with the , daughter Charlotte told how she started having suicidal thoughts due to stress related to the case, and what she has described as “bogus” allegations against her mum.
Having read a number of negative articles about her mother, who was famously in charge of the search for gunman Raoul Moat and now faces bullying allegations, it all became too much.
The forensic psychology student, 22, said friends were forced to take her to hospital after she drank two bottles of wine and downed a cocktail of pills when she was at “breaking point”.
After reporting the alleged rape in Scotland in May 2014, Charlotte moved back to Newcastle, at which point she was assigned a sexual offences liaison officer by Northumbria Police.
Mrs Sim has now slammed the force’s decision to send a police officer to the family home days after she resigned over claims of sexism and bullying.
In a letter to Northumbria Police Deputy Chief Constable Winton Keenan, she said: “I complained about the treatment my daughter received at the hands of Northumbria Police and that I believed the treatment was part of the continued victimisation of me by senior officers.
My parents thought I’d done something wrong
Charlotte Sim
“She was extremely upset because a uniform male constable had come to the house.
“She was upset this could potentially have made her reveal the rape to us, had she not already done so.”
Charlotte told how she was making dinner with her sister for her dad on Father’s Day when the cop visited the house.
She said: “My parents thought I’d done something wrong. He came into the house and said ‘Hello Ma’am’ to my mum.”
The officer proceeded to give the 22-year-old a summons, before leaving.
Charlotte said she “felt sick” by the way the visit was handled: “A lot of victims don’t tell their families, don’t tell their friends – and that’s completely their choice.
“I’m not sure if the police did that to cause the most amount of embarrassment possible to me and my mum, or if that’s protocol.
“If this is normal procedure then there is a significantly bigger problem.”
Charlotte’s alleged rapist was cleared of rape charges during a four-day trial in Scotland last year.
He was instead found guilty on charges of voyeurism and sexual assault.
But it wasn’t the verdict that upset Charlotte, who said she understands that rape cases are difficult to prosecute.
The student, who is still on antidepressants now, said it's the drama with Northumbria Police that has had a “real impact” on her and her mum.
She said: “Every time there’s a development with Mum’s case she ends up in tears.
“Everyone keeps saying, ‘Why does your mum not let it go?’ But it’s out of genuine concern for female officers and victims within Northumbria.”
After representatives from Northumbria Police’s Professional Standards met with the Sim family this September to discuss the way Charlotte was treated, Mrs Sim wrote to Deputy Chief Constable Keenan directly.
He replied, saying it would be inappropriate to comment on the way Northumbria Police informed Charlotte she needed to attend court.
If this is normal procedure then there is a significantly bigger problem
Charlotte Sim
He said: “That will be addressed by the investigation surrounding the complaints you have made, but I did want you to know how sad I am Charlotte has been upset in the course of what has happened, irrespective of where any criticism may subsequently come to be levelled.”
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police told the Daily Mirror the summons had been sent directly from Scotland, where Charlotte first reported the alleged rape: “The summons comes to the nearest local station and an officer is sent out as part of their daily duties to deliver it.
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