Police told Gaia Pope it would be traumatic to go to court after alleged rape, inquest hears

Detectives told teenager there was little chance of the case succeeding, inquest jurors told

The Dorset teenager Gaia Pope was left devastated when she learned a man she had accused of raping her had allegedly harassed and targeted many other women and girls, an inquest jury has heard.

Pope, 19, whose body was found on a clifftop in November 2017, 11 days after she went missing, had reported the rape because she wanted to protect others, jurors were told, but detectives told her there was little chance of the case succeeding and it would be traumatic to go to court, it is claimed.

In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html