A rape allegation made by a 12-year-old girl who later took a fatal overdose was taken “very seriously” by police, an inquest has heard.
Semina Halliwell died in hospital on June 12 2021 after taking medication at her family home in Southport. An inquest at Bootle Town Hall has heard that in March 2021 Semina told her mother she had been sexually assaulted by an older boy in January that year.
Her mother, Rachel Halliwell, told the hearing on Monday that Semina might still be alive if there had been better support from police, social services and the school. Giving evidence on Wednesday (January 15), PC Paula Carney said she took an initial account from Semina on March 24, when the schoolgirl said she had been in contact with a boy on Snapchat from November the previous year.
Semina told her he had been “pestering” her to meet up and had sexually assaulted her on two occasions, in January and February, PC Carney said. She returned to speak to Semina with colleague DC Chris Loughead on March 28, the inquest heard.
Asked how seriously he took Semina’s allegation, DC Loughead said: “Very seriously – you can see from the outset as soon as I have read the report I’m making phone calls.” He was asked by Harriet Johnson, representing the family, if he had told Semina during that meeting that it would be “her word against” her alleged attacker’s.
DC Loughead said he would have explained the investigation process to her. He said: “It would be their two accounts against each other, yes.”
He added: “I’m talking to Semina about potential pitfalls, and her family, and one of those potential pitfalls is it is going to be potentially that kind of case because we didn’t have forensics or a medical.”
He said he would have explained the length of time it would take, potentially 18 months to two years, to go to court and that there would have been a lot of work involved. Asked if Semina might have interpreted that as him pointing out it was a “burdensome investigation”, he said: “Absolutely not.”
He added: “I never said it would be an administrative burden. It’s certainly not a burden, it’s part and parcel of my job to ensure I gather evidence.”
Ms Johnson asked him: “Did you at any stage tell her that you believed her?”
He said: “I don’t remember using those exact words. I think the phrase I commonly use is ‘no matter how difficult it is I’ll always look for a golden nugget to prove it’.”
Three months prior to her death, she had told her mum she had been sexually assaulted by an older boy
DC Loughead said he asked Semina’s mother and her aunt, Clare Halliwell, to leave the room while talking to the schoolgirl about whether she wanted to pursue the complaint.
He said: “There were lots of suggestions from mum and aunty. Pressure’s being put on her maybe to pursue something that she didn’t want to do, just from the reactions we were getting from her.”
PC Carney said Rachel Halliwell was “enthusiastic” about Semina making the complaint. She said: “I think mum was encouraging Semina to go ahead.
“If I remember correctly it was ‘you don’t want this to happen to somebody else’. I reiterated to Semina that wasn’t her responsibility to take on.”
PC Carney said she referred Semina to the Rape and Sexual Assault charity. The inquest has heard that Semina decided not to pursue the complaint but later changed her mind and was due to have a video interview on June 10.
She took an overdose of medication on June 9 and died in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital three days later.
The inquest is due to last until next Tuesday.
You don’t have to suffer in silence if you’re struggling with your mental health.
Here are some groups you can contact:
Samaritans: Phone 116 123, 24 hours a day, or email jo@samaritans.org, in confidence.
Childline: Phone 0800 1111. Calls are free and won’t show up on your bill.
PAPYRUS: Suicide prevention charity offering professional help and support to children, young people and anyone concerned for someone struggling with life. Call HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039 967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org.
Depression Alliance: A charity for people with depression. No helpline, but it offers useful resources and links to other information.
Students Against Depression: A website for students who are depressed, have low mood, or are suicidal. Click here to visit.
Bullying UK: A website for both children and adults affected by bullying. Click here.
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): For young men who are feeling unhappy. There is a helpline: 0800 58 58 58 or visit the website.
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