Scared assault victim says she was ‘let down’ by police failures to stop attacker contacting her

NO ACTION FOR WEEkS

A woman who was hit with a vacuum cleaner by her drunk neighbour has criticised police failures to stop him contacting her.

The man was given a two-year restraining order in March that was supposed to prevent him from calling on the woman, who said the assault had left her terrified and in need of therapy.

She even moved to a different area of Leicestershire to get away from him.

But on October 9, the man phoned her and sent text messages. Days later, the 57-year-old woman said she heard from a friend that the man had moved to a caravan five minutes’ drive from her new home.

But she claimed that despite her repeated calls to the police about the illegal contact, no action was taken against the man for several weeks.

Describing the initial attack, she said: “He lived near me and we would say hello.

“Then one day he came to my house because he wanted to chat about his relative who had cancer - I had been through a similar thing with my father.

“I said I didn’t have time, but he said he would put the kettle on and he’d like me to go round, so later on I did.

“Inside his home he had a Rambo-style knife out and he was clearly drunk. I tried to leave and he grabbed my phone from the coffee table, and when I asked for it back he refused and said he would cut off my dogs’ heads and put them on spikes.

“He then picked up his vacuum cleaner and hit me with it.”

The man was charged with assault and theft, but denied the crimes, meaning the woman had to attend a trial at Leicester Magistrates’ Court earlier this year to give evidence against him.

She said it was a difficult experience, especially as the man’s lawyer challenged her story.

She said: “When he was found guilty and sentenced to unpaid work and given the restraining order, I thought that was the end of it.

“I moved to a different side of the county.”

She added: “After he phoned and texted me on October 9, I called the police straight away and they said no-one could come out that night, and I waited several days.

“When a police officer from Loughborough police station did come round, she said that since the man lived in Melton the case should go to them.”

Speaking on October 28, the woman said: “I’ve called five times and I’m still waiting to speak to someone. And now I’ve found out he’s living near me. I’m scared.

“The case has now been sent back from Melton police to Loughborough police, and when I phoned the professional standards department to complain they said the officer on the case was sick, and so now it’s going to be a month since it happened.

“As far as I know they haven’t even spoken to him, let alone arrested him for breaching his court order.

“It makes you wonder if anyone feels like they need to take any notice of court orders.

“You see these people like the man who killed Sarah Everard always having reports against them but nothing happening. And then Leicestershire Police have just been apologising for failing to do anything about the accusations of Greville Janner molesting children. And the police are wondering why people arm themselves with knives.

“I used to work for Leicestershire Police for eight years and I feel so let down by them.

“If you let people get away with breaking their court orders their behaviour will just escalate.

“When this man attacked me I thought I was going to be killed. I had to have therapy afterwards because I was scared.

“I can’t believe the police haven’t done anything about this.”

The police press office was contacted - the department which deals with queries from the media - on Thursday, October 28 about the woman’s complaint.

APOLOGY FROM FORCE

Seven days later, the force responded to say it had now charged the man for breaching his restraining order, and apologised for its slow reaction to the allegations.

A Leicestershire Police spokesperson said: “Police received a report last month from a woman that a restraining order had been breached as it was alleged that a man had contacted her, for which he is prohibited from as part of the order.

“Unfortunately, due to ongoing operational commitments, officers were unable to attend the report initially. Further delays were also caused due to the investigating officer being on sick leave and discrepancies on where the offender lived.

“Substantial inquiries have now been made and the man has been charged with breaching a restraining order and remanded to appear at court.

“The woman has been informed of this latest update.

“We apologise that the delay was not part of our usual standard of service and want to reassure the complainant and the wider public, that we take reports of this nature extremely seriously and are committed to ensuring such offences are thoroughly investigated.”

He said he would cut off my dogs’ heads and put them on spikes The victim