Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is criticized by the father of a 13-year-old girl “who was attacked on a bus” after he was forced to wait nearly THREE YEARS for the case to be heard in court.
The father of a girl who was ‘assaulted on a bus’ criticized Dominic Raab.
The Justice Secretary only replied to a letter last week sent by the family in June
According to the father, he has waited nearly three years for the matter to be heard in court.
The father of a 13-year-old girl who had to wait nearly three years for her case to be heard criticized Justice Secretary Dominic Raab after receiving a vague letter in response to media coverage of his daughter’s case.
In June, the girl’s family addressed Mr. Raab a letter and followed up with phone calls pleading for assistance with the case.
However, they did not receive a response until last week, when BBC Radio 4 highlighted the controversy that will force the 13-year-old to wait three years for her accuser’s trial.
Mr. Raab, who supports Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak, delivered an apology letter to the family last week for the court delay, but the father criticized the effort.
A parent whose daughter was assaulted on a bus nearly three years ago has criticized Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, but the matter has yet to go to court.
In the summer of 2020, the 13-year-old girl was attacked while riding the bus home in broad daylight after visiting a friend (stock image)
He stated, “It’s like a letter a furniture company would send when your freshly purchased sofa arrives late with damaged upholstery and broken legs when you sit on it — just modify the details when responding to an adjourned rape victim on behalf of a government minister.”
“I apologize for the inexcusable delay in answering; this must be a nightmare for you. There is a new investment for additional master artisans to make things better, and we’ve been on vacation in the south of France like all government decision makers.
“Sorry, we can’t help you, so go away.”
In the summer of 2020, the 13-year-old girl was attacked while riding the bus home in broad daylight after visiting a friend.
Her father stated, “We are obviously vigilant about where she goes; she was not out at night.”
The cops interviewed the girl. A suspect was apprehended, arrested, and charged with the assault.
The trial was originally scheduled for June of this year, but it was postponed because the court could not locate a judge, which was devastating for the child and her family.
The letter issued on Mr. Raab’s behalf last week, several months after the family attempted to make contact, explained that the government was unable to intervene in the specific case but was paying £477million to help clear the courts’ backlog.
The Labour Shadow Justice Secretary, Steve Reed MP (above), accused the Conservative Government for more than 15,000 delayed crown court cases.
Between 2010 and 2021, 16,623 Crown Court trials were delayed due to a lack of available prosecutors or judges, according to research conducted by the Labour Party.
And the total number of ineffective trials since 2010 has increased during 2016 to 339,069, a record high.
Steve Reed, the Shadow Justice Secretary for the Labour Party, stated, “This is more proof that this soft-on-crime Conservative government is letting crooks off the hook and victims down.”
‘Decades of court closures and neglect of our criminal justice system have resulted in rape survivors commonly having to wait more than three years for justice, with many being informed only at the last minute that their trial will not proceed.
“Labor will address the backlog in the criminal courts and would have already strengthened victims’ legal rights had the Conservatives not opposed our Victims Bill,”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice stated, “This is a very horrible instance that no family should have to endure.”
The Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, has made direct contact with the family to offer his support.