Woman drugged and raped aged 15 receives six-figure Met Police settlement

A woman who alleges she was drugged and raped from the age of 15 has received a six-figure settlement from the Metropolitan Police after the force admitted missing opportunities to investigate her case. Tina Duggan reported the abuse by Frederick Allchorne, who later became her husband, to Sutton Police Station in 1991. The case was closed two weeks later, despite evidence including indecent images and underwear containing Allchorne’s DNA, as reported by This Is Local London.

Ms Duggan first met Allchorne in 1984 in Sutton. She states that from 1984 until she fled to a women’s refuge in 1991, she was sexually abused daily by Allchorne and other men. In 1988, when Ms Duggan was 17, she was taken to St Helier Hospital in Carshalton with symptoms consistent with mind-altering drugs. Medical staff did not alert the police, and she was discharged. It was during this period that she discovered drugs, handcuffs, and indecent images of herself unconscious in a cupboard.

Case Reopened After Decades

Eighteen years after her initial report, Ms Duggan was asked to provide a character statement for Allchorne, who was under investigation for the sexual assault of three children. While Allchorne was convicted and placed on the Sexual Offenders Register for life for those offences, Ms Duggan was incorrectly informed by police that her own case could not be reopened. Her case was eventually reopened in 2023 after medical staff alerted the Met in 2018, following an emergency care visit triggered by chronic pain from past abuse.

In 2024, Frederick Allchorne, then aged 62, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, five counts of administering a drug with intent, five counts of indecent assault on a woman over 16, and one count of bigamy. Ms Duggan told This Is Local London that she felt frustrated by the decades-long delay, stating she often felt the police did not believe her or consider her worthy of being listened to.

The Metropolitan Police wrote to Ms Duggan admitting they had twice "missed the opportunity" to investigate her allegations. Initially, the force denied liability for negligence but offered £10,000 in compensation. Following legal advice from Hudgell Solicitors, the Met changed its position and agreed to a six-figure settlement. A spokesperson for the Met stated that "learnings" had been taken and that procedures for handling such cases had been changed.

Iftikhar Manzoor of Hudgell Solicitors commented that "nothing will ever compensate for what she was tragically forced to endure from such a young age and to this day, she remains physiologically traumatised." Ms Duggan now works as a teacher assistant supporting children with mental health issues.