Prosecutors charged a vulnerable autistic school girl with terror offences without the “full evidential picture” of her exploitation by a neo-Nazi, an inquest has heard.
Rhianan Rudd, 16, who was found with a ligature around her neck five months after her charges were dropped, had been groomed by a far-right extremist and was investigated by police after she downloaded a bomb-making manual and carved a swastika onto her forehead.
Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard that the teenager was pronounced dead at Bluebell House Residential Home in Nottinghamshire on May 19 2022 while she was in the care of Derbyshire County Council.
When she was 14, Rhianan, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, had been in contact with a 28-year-old, American, white supremacist who exploited her and encouraged her to read “racially-motivated” material, the inquest heard.
Rhianan Rudd, left, was found dead in a children’s home (Family handout/PA)
Her mother, Emily Carter, referred her daughter to the de-radicalisation programme Prevent in September 2020, and the girl was later investigated by counter-terrorism police and MI5.
The court heard that Rhianan was arrested a few weeks after, on October 21, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) counter terrorism division received a referral from police that month.
On April 15 2021, about six months after her arrest, Rhianan went missing and was located in Sheffield after breaching her bail conditions, and was subsequently charged with a number of terror offences which was an “urgent charging action”.
The inquest was told the decision to charge Rhianan was considered in the public interest because recovered documents made reference to “bombing and killing people” and that it was assessed that her “offending was likely to have continued and the outcome may have been very serious harm to the public”.
Nick Price, former head of the CPS counter terrorism division, told the inquest that they did not make a referral to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which identifies victims of human trafficking or modern slavery, and that was to be done by the police or local authority.
He said: “Our perspective at this stage was trying to understand what the full evidential picture was, in particular, the source material and not reports from counter terrorism policing.
“Material was outstanding which ideally we would have possessed. Relevant material was not considered because it was not available to be considered.
“Information was being gathered post-charge all the way through to the point the case was discontinued, not necessarily for the purpose of the NRM, but would have been relevant to their considerations.”
He told the court there “was no evidence they were aware of” that there had been a “geographical move” which would usually be considered in cases of modern slavery.
Rhianan died five months after the charges were dropped (Family handout/PA)
Jesse Nicholls, representing Rhianan’s mother, asked Mr Price whether the CPS was aware that she had been “significantly mentally impacted” by the fact she was being prosecuted, including because of her autism.
Mr Price replied: “We would, as experienced prosecutors, be absolutely aware of the impact that criminal proceedings have on young people, particularly on those with the characteristics described.”
Rhianan, who had self-harmed, drew “violent imagery” of people hanging from a ligature diary entries from June and July 2021, and wrote “sorry” in her own blood on the page with a swastika, the court was shown.
In August 2021, Derbyshire County Council believed there were “reasonable grounds to believe Rhianan may have been a victim of modern slavery” and the police received notification of this and would “look at the case in more detail”, the inquest heard.
In October, the same month that Rhianan got her autism diagnosis, the CPS prosecutor in her case reviewed the criminal proceedings, but the court was told it was still deemed “in the public interest” to continue with the prosecution at that point.
The following month, the CPS received information indicating that Rhianan was “on the balance of probabilities a victim of criminal and sexual exploitation”, which meant the case was “carefully re-reviewed”, the court was told.
Her charges were dropped on December 29 2021, the court heard, because of her autism diagnosis and “other material” which demonstrated her vulnerabilities and “passed doubt on the legitimacy of her intention”, the court heard.
There “no longer remained a realistic case of prosecution”, the inquest was told.
The inquest continues.