A woman who was arrested on suspicion of fabricating a rape claim has waived her anonymity and called for the police officers involved to lose their jobs.
Esther Poupard decided to speak out after the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) found that eight of her 15 complaints against the force after the alleged incident in Caithness were found to have been “not handled to a reasonable standard”.
The 28-year-old told the then Northern Constabulary officers she had been attacked by a Dutch oil worker in the early hours of June 6, 2011, in Lybster, where she lived at the time.
The man later went to trial, but the case against him was not proven.
Within hours of her claims, the accused was questioned but released without charge – pending further inquiries – and allowed to leave the country. About a month later and after giving two statements, Miss Poupard herself was arrested and handcuffed and told she could be charged with fabricating her claim.
But the PIRC report said her detention may not have been lawful as “there had been insufficient evidence to detain her for wasting police time”. The force must now re-investigate the complaint.
While in custody, she was told to remove every item of clothing as people walked past an open cell door. PIRC stated they preferred Miss Poupard’s evidence to that of a female officer who was present when she was forced to strip.
The report also said a decision to release the man was “flawed” as there was enough evidence to charge him – an issue highlighted in an earlier National Rape Review Team review of the case.
Detective Chief Inspector Rory Hamilton, of Police Scotland’s National Rape Task Force, acknowledged the Pirc report and said “a number of improvements” have been made to the investigation of rape and sexual offences, including more regular reviews of training and guidance to local officers.
Last night, speaking from her new home in Canada, Miss Poupard said: “I am absolutely disgusted with the way they (Northern Constabulary police officers) dealt with it.
“Personally, I don’t think they should be working in the police. If they can do it to me they can do it to someone else. An apology won’t cut it.”
In response to a question of whether the officers who mishandled the case should lose their jobs, she replied: “Yes, absolutely.”
The Pirc report also revealed that police wrongly disallowed Miss Poupard’s mother to comfort her as she gave her initial statement, and the force has been asked to explain why a medical exam was carried out by a male doctor despite her asking for a woman.
Police were last night unable to respond to Miss Poupard’s call for the officers at fault to lose their jobs.
The National Rape Investigation Unit reviewed the case and decided there was enough evidence to prosecute.
The man was arrested in 2015 and faced trial at the High Court in Aberdeen – but the case was not proven.
