Woman abused by babysitter as a child says compensation can't fix injustice done by police

A child sex abuse victim has said "no amount of money can fix what's gone wrong" after 30 years of police failures meant no-one was ever charged.

Michaela Allen, 38, said she was abused by a babysitter at her home when she was seven.

But police never charged the man allegedly responsible and lost vital evidence, only to find it years later and wrongly post it to Michaela, ending any prospect of a conviction.

Michaela has been awarded £32,000 by police, but it is understood two other alleged victims of the same perpetrator whose evidence in the same case was also lost,received about £10,000, paid jointly by South Wales Police and Gwent Police - both forces apologised for their failures.

Michaela, from Caerphilly, said: "Even though I have finalised this compensation, it doesn't really give me closure, the reality of this is there is still a predator on the loose that remains a risk to the public."

When Michaela told her grandmother what her babysitter had done to her in 1995, her mum phoned the police immediately.

In the police interview video, the seven-year-old describes how he asked her to give him "grown up kisses".

She refused, saying it was "naughty", but he threatened to tell her parents she was not behaving.

On the tape, she said he told her: "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

She went on to describe how he pulled her trousers down and accurately described male genitalia.

Michaela's mum Stephanie previously said: "The police officer in that room stated that never before had she had a child give so much detailed evidence without being questioned.

"There was no doubt in my mind that this was going to court."

Even though the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) instructed the police officer in charge to ask her parents if Michaela could face cross-examination in court, Stephanie said that never happened.

Despite asking for updates continuously over the years, South Wales Police never followed up.

In 2017, Michaela tried to re-open her case, only to be told the video evidence could not be found.

While South Wales Police was responsible for the original investigation and storage of the evidence tape, a boundary change in 1996 saw Gwent Police assume responsibility for Caerphilly, and Michaela's case.

An investigation by Gwent Police in 2018 stated that the officer in the original case could not remember it, but claims he would have followed the CPS instruction.

With no further action, police said the video evidence would have been "lawfully discarded in 1996".

But shortly after, the police got in touch with unexpected news claiming the evidence had been found.

In a letter to her, South Wales Police blamed a lack of cataloguing evidence tapes, and it was only in July 2021 when 8,605 tapes were digitised that Michaela's was found.

This revelation gave Michaela hope that she would finally face her alleged abuser in court.

Not believing police had really found it, she asked for a copy, but was told she could not have it until the end of the investigation.

Then, to her surprise, the tape turned up in the post and a copy was emailed to her by Gwent Police.

It was because of this that the CPS told Michaela in September 2023 they did not feel "the suspect could be given a fair trial".

"But where was my fair trial?" asked Michaela.

"It's been really difficult to accept, I'm really struggling to let this go. I was just absolutely devastated.

"It's just shocking to me that they can make so many mistakes and be given so many chances to rectify it, and then they finally solidify the outcome to ensure that justice could never prevail.

"We were denied our right to closure and for our abuser to be held to account, which was supposed to have happened in 1997 as per clear CPS charging advice."

Michaela and the two other alleged victims have now received compensation, but she said the disparity between payments was unfair and police would not justify the difference.

"It's not about the money, it never has been, it's the principle" she said.

"They denied us the closure in their failure to charge and then unfairly paid the other two victims substantially less than me, despite all being victims of the same crime and same police failures.

"It makes the apologies from both forces we received mean nothing, to be honest with you.

"They made me fight for four apologies before they would even accept the data breach of losing my evidence.

"That wasn't treating me with respect or dignity that was trying their best to avoid accountability until the ICO forced their hand and upheld the data breach.

"Only then they submitted and finally apologised as it was outside of their control."

She said Gwent Police previously denied responsibility when it "directly affected outcomes for victims... which raises questions about the sincerity of that apology".

She added: "It feels like they are prioritising protecting their reputation and minimising financial repercussions over the duty of care they had to us as victims of abuse.

"After all the stress and injustice we were subjected to, they didn't even have the respect or decency to hold their hands up for the biggest failure of all.

"Not just to us, but to the public they swore to serve and protect, by letting a dangerous predator walk free after failing to act on clear CPS instructions to charge."

One of the other alleged victims, who wanted to remain anonymous said: "I would like to express how disappointed and let down I feel by the standard of service I received from the police.

"The handling of our case over multiple investigations fell significantly below acceptable standards and demonstrated serious failings. It fell below what any victim should expect."

South Wales Police said: "An investigation into the complaint took place and a wholehearted apology for the original failure to locate the tape has been made. A financial settlement has also been reached.

"South Wales Police takes all reports of sexual assault seriously and urges victims to come forward to report it, regardless of when it happened, safe in the knowledge that they will be treated with respect and dignity and that their allegation will be fully investigated."

Gwent Police's Dep Ch Con Nicky Brain said: "We acknowledge the upset, distress and disappointment caused and have previously apologised to Ms Allen and the two other people affected for the failure to proceed with charges in 1996 and the outcome of the investigation in 2022. We have put measures in place to learn from these.

"While we acknowledge a financial offer can't recompense for the shortcomings in the service provided to them, we have made this in good faith.

"We remain committed to investigating allegations of child abuse, and we would urge anyone who has suffered or is currently suffering abuse to please come forward to report it.

"We understand this is a difficult step to make and should you not feel ready to talk to police, there is a whole range of partner agencies who can support you."

If you are affected by any of the issues in this article you can find details of organisations that can help via the BBC Action Line.