Scotland’s police watchdog has slammed Tayside cops for their handling of an investigation into the rape of a young boy.
The victim, now aged 13, was attacked by another youngster in a house in Angus in November 2017.
It was witnessed by two other children and was believed to have been filmed on an iPad while an adult was downstairs.
The horrific attack was investigated by the police ’s Child Protection Unit and officers later arrested and charged a local 13-year-old.
It was passed to the office of the Children’s Reporter, which chose to take no further action – to the astonishment of the victim’s mother.
Since then the young victim - who has been left deeply traumatised by the attack - was awarded a significant five-figure sum by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). It will be paid into a savings account and he will be able to access it when he is 18.
Humza Yousaf, who was the Scottish Justice Secretary at the time, has also since apologised to the mother for failures in the way the case was handled.
Now the official investigation into the case by PIRC - the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner - has concluded.
It looked into eight complaints by the mother and upheld four of them. It concluded the other four complaints had been handled to ‘a reasonable standard’ by Tayside officers.
The upheld complaints involved claims officers hadn’t investigated certain aspects of the case thoroughly enough or kept the mother informed of developments.
A letter to the mum that accompanied the 19-page PIRC report, said: “As you will see from the report, we have found that Police Scotland handled complaints 1, 2, 6 and 8 to a reasonable standard, but not complaints 3, 4, 5 or 7. Consequently, we have made three recommendations to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaints. We have also identified a Learning Point.
“Please be assured that we will be taking steps to ensure that these are implemented by Police Scotland.”
Last night the devastated mum gave her reaction to the report.
Fighting back tears she said: “This investigation has been a shambles from start to finish. We have been the ones made to feel responsible.
“We have had to move home and school and have our lives completely disrupted. It’s just not right.
“The PIRC report covers some of the ground but I feel absolutely powerless. It’s as if those that can do something are turning a blind eye.”
A Police Scotland Spokesman said: “Police Scotland has implemented recommendations made by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner following a Complaint Handling Review and further information is being sent to the complainer.”
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