Police told rape victim her attacker would not be caught unless she gave up her mobile phone

Exclusive: ‘I had a trust in the police and justice system to have my back and they didn’t’

Sarah* said she was told her case could not proceed without the phone (Santeri Viinamäki)

Police told a rape victim that her attacker would not be caught unless she handed over her mobile phone, amid warnings that such demands are increasing across the country.

Sarah* is one of a rising number of women dropping rape complaints, and the proportion prosecuted has plummeted to 1.9 per cent in England and Wales.

The 22-year-old was attacked by a stranger who claimed he would help her get home after she lost her handbag on a night out.

“I don’t remember a lot, I just know I woke up in my own bed and he was having sex with me without my consent,” she told The Independent. “I was in shock.”

Sarah gave a statement and forensic samples at a sexual assault centre the following week, and reported the attack at a London police station three months later.

After giving three interviews, a specialist officer said she had to hand in her mobile phone.

“She said there was a new rule that with all rape cases, the victim has to hand their phone to the police so that all the detail on it can be downloaded – social media messages, photos everything – to make sure nothing comes out as a surprise in the investigation that would bring down the case,” Sarah added.

When she asked what would happen if she did not hand over her phone, the officer “just said that the case couldn’t go ahead”.

The meeting was in April 2018, months after national uproar over rape cases that collapsed because of newly discovered phone messages and photos.

Police and prosecutors have insisted that phone downloads are not a requirement for rape prosecutions, but lawyers say demands have spread after last year’s scandal.

Some senior officers have accused the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of “raising the bar” for the evidence needed, slowing down investigations and causing victims to drop out.

The Information Commissioner is currently investigating “excessive and disproportionate” trawling of rape victims’ phones and personal records.

Katie Russell, of Rape Crisis, said demands for phones had increased in the past two years.

“There was undoubtedly a change in the way the CPS approaches this … it seems a lot more cautious,” she added.

“This woman will sadly not be the only one who has decided not to pursue a case.

“There has been a lot of focus on the accused, but the impact on victims is extraordinary.”

In November, the new director of public prosecutions said rape complainants’ phones should not “be pursued as a matter of course”.

Max Hill QC said the right to a fair trial must be balanced against the “unnecessary and unjustified invasion” of complainants’ private lives.

Sarah said his comments were a “totally different story” to her experience, adding: “I really wish that were true but it’s not.

“The officer said that [the case] needed to be validated by the CPS, and they wouldn’t lay it through unless the victim had given the phone.”

Sarah had been prepared to go through the lengthy justice process, she said, and had already given police the man’s full name and picture after finding his Facebook profile.

Sarah said it was “torture” to know the man who raped her is at large.

“I think about it every day – he’s still out there, he knows where I live,” she added. “I had a trust in the police and justice system to have my back and they didn’t.”

Kate Ellis, a solicitor at the Centre for Women’s Justice, said that even when rape complainants agree to hand over their phones, consent may “not be given freely”.

“Suspects have rights but there’s no justification for putting victims in a position where they have to sign their privacy away or drop a case,” she said.

The London Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, called Sarah’s case “entirely unacceptable” and warned that confidence in the criminal justice process was being undermined.

“It is clear that existing ‘consent’ procedures need urgently amending to make sure that no more victims feel unable to pursue an investigation unless they share thousands of pages of emails, text and social media messages – which is putting strain on police forces across the country,” she added.

A CPS spokesperson said it does not demand mobile phone evidence in every sex offence investigation.

“Police must pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry but what this constitutes depends on the circumstances of each case,” he added.

“We have shared clear guidance with the police and are working with them to help complainants understand how their devices will be examined and their data used.”

Although there are ‎safeguards to prevent victims being cross-examined on irrelevant sexual history, Sarah was concerned that phone evidence of past one-night stands could be used against her in court.

“I ended up withdrawing my case,” she said. “It made me very angry, it made me feel like I was the one on trial and they were trying to seek out ways it was my fault.”

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said that officers would review the case if Sarah reopened the complaint.

“Investigative strategies when a sexual offence allegation is made will differ with each individual case,” he added.

“Officers will determine reasonable lines of enquiry based on the information and evidence available, in order to carry out a thorough investigation and this may include analysis of communications evidence.”

*The Independent has changed the victim’s name to protect her anonymity