Father of girl, 13, ‘attacked on bus’ condemns Dominic Raab after nearly THREE YEAR wait for court

The father of a 13-year-old girl forced to wait almost three years for her case to be heard has castigated Justice Secretary Dominic Raab after he received a mealy-mouthed letter following media interest in his daughter’s case.

The family of the girl sent a letter to Mr Raab in June and followed up with calls begging for help with the case.

But they did not receive any response until last week when the scandal, which will see the 13-year-old wait three years for her accuser to go on trial, was highlighted by BBC Radio 4.

A letter written on behalf of Mr Raab, who is backing Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak, was sent to the family last week apologising for the court delay but the father has blasted the move.

In the summer of 2020 the 13-year-old girl was taking a bus home in broad daylight after visiting a friend when she was attacked (stock image)

He said: ‘It’s like a templated letter a furniture manufacturer would send when your newly bought sofa arrives late with damaged upholstery and broken legs when you sit on it – just change the details when replying to an adjourned rape case victim on behalf of a government minister.

‘Sorry for the unacceptable delay in responding, it must be awful for you – there’s new investment for more master craftsmen to make it all better and of course we’ve been away in the south of France like all government decision makers.

‘Sorry, nothing we can do, so bugger off.’

In the summer of 2020 the 13-year-old girl was taking a bus home in broad daylight after visiting a friend when she was attacked.

Her father has said that ‘obviously we’re careful about where she goes, she wasn’t out at night’.

The girl was interviewed by police. A man was caught, arrested and charged with the attack.

Originally the trial was set for June of this year but was postponed after the court could not find a judge, devastating the girl and her family.

The letter sent on behalf of Mr Raab last week, several months after the family tried to make contact, outlined that the government could not intervene in the specific case but was investing £477million to help clear the courts backlog.

Steve Reed MP (pictured), Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, blamed the Conservative Government for more than 15,000 delayed crown court cases

It comes as Labour Party research revealed 16,623 Crown Court trials were postponed due to a lack of an available prosecutor or judge between 2010 and 2021.

And the total number of ineffective trials is higher that any point since 2016 with 339,069 since 2010.

Steve Reed MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, said: ‘This is yet more evidence that this soft-on-crime Conservative Government is letting criminals off and victims down.

‘Years of court closures and neglect of our criminal justice system has resulted in rape survivors routinely waiting more than three years for justice, with many being told only at short notice that their trial will not go ahead.

‘Labour will tackle the criminal courts backlog and would have already legislated to strengthen victims’ rights in law but for the Conservatives’ decision to oppose our Victims Bill.’

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘This is a truly appalling case that no family should have to go through.

‘The Deputy Prime Minister [Dominic Raab] is in touch with the family directly to offer his support.’