A teenager whose body was found on a rock in Dorset after an 11-day search was worried about the impending release from prison of a man she said police raped her when she was 16, a jury heard.
Gaia Pope was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the alleged rape and was worried that the man she accused was about to be released. On the day she disappeared, 19-year-old Pope from Swansea had to file a formal complaint with police after receiving obscene images on social media.
The Bournemouth jury was told that Pope, a student, was in the care of mental health professionals at a local NHS trust after the alleged rape, but was discharged to her GP a month before her death.
Rachel Griffin, senior coroner for Dorset, said the impact of the alleged rape, her medical care, the manner in which she was searched and the cause of her death would be examined during the 11-week investigation.
Griffin told the jury: “In December 2015, she revealed to the family that she had been raped the previous year when she was 16. She told police, the alleged perpetrator denied the allegation.
“He has not been charged or convicted of a Gaia crime. About a year later, he was convicted of other sexual offenses involving other victims. The alleged perpetrator was due to be released in the fall of 2017. During her disappearance, Gaia was worried about his impending release. “
Griffin told jurors it didn’t matter to them to hear about the exact circumstances of the alleged rape or the decision not to charge them.
“However, it is appropriate for you to hear how upset Gaia was by the decision not to blame him and the impact of his impending release on Gaia’s mental health,” she said.
The jury heard that from 2015 to 2017, Pope was subjected to a mental health assessment and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2016. On October 22, 2017, she was discharged from the Dorset NHS Health Foundation back to the care of your personal physician.
On November 2, 2017, she informed the police that she had been sent obscene images on social media and had to meet with police officers to make a formal complaint and statement on November 7.
She was at her aunt’s house that day, but she looked “restless” and ran away at 3:40 p.m. The relative contacted police at 3:42 p.m., telling them that Pope had “an episode” and expressed concerns about Gaia’s well-being. The last known sight of her alive was filmed by a video surveillance camera in Swansea just before 4 p.m.
Gaia’s search included police, the Coast Guard, the National Aviation Police Service, and Dorset Search & Rescue volunteers. Her body was finally found among bushes on a rock near Swansea on November 18.
In a statement issued before the hearing, the family said: “There is no word on this kind of loss, especially when we hear from so many other survivors that they are still denied access to justice and support.
“We need to know if more could have been done to protect Gaia, as well as our community, which is working so hard to find her. These are issues not only of our personal grief, but also of public care. “
The investigation continues.
-
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, you can contact the Samaritans at 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the United States, the National Suicide Prevention Line is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the Lifeline crisis support service is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
Add Comment