Woman's 15-Year Battle Against Police Dismissal of Sexual Assault Report
Nina Cresswell, a 35-year-old woman, has spent over 15 years fighting for justice after police dismissed her report of a violent sexual assault because she was intoxicated. She describes this period as "hell," marked by what she calls "traumatisation after traumatisation" that survivors face while seeking basic justice.
The Night That Changed Everything
In the early hours of 28 May 2010, after meeting a man at a nightclub in Sunderland, Cresswell says she was violently sexually assaulted by William Hay, known as Billy. Terrified and traumatized, she managed to escape and immediately called the police.
Instead of receiving the support and investigation she expected, Cresswell claims officers dismissed her account due to her intoxicated state and failed to interview her when sober. Within hours, police decided not to record the attack as a crime.
A Civil Court Victory Amid Criminal Failures
Despite police reopening their investigation twice and finding insufficient evidence for criminal conviction, a civil High Court judge ruled in 2023 that Cresswell had indeed been "violently sexually assaulted" by Hay. The civil case, which involved a defamation suit brought by Hay after Cresswell named him online in 2020, used the lower "balance of probabilities" threshold rather than the criminal standard of "beyond reasonable doubt."
Mrs Justice Heather Williams described police treatment of Cresswell as "deficient" and their investigation as "superficial." She noted that Cresswell was interviewed while still affected by alcohol without sleep, wasn't allowed to check officers' records of her statement, and that police prematurely assessed and rejected her credibility.
Systemic Failures and Institutional Betrayal
An internal investigation by Northumbria Police completed last year found that "the original 2010 investigation fell below the standards of investigation expected in today's policing" and that the service provided was "not acceptable." The force has apologized twice.
Cresswell describes how the ordeal has taken a severe toll, causing her to lose her house and business due to legal costs. "The focus ended up being less on the perpetrator and more on me," she said. "It chews so many women up inside, holding the perpetrator's shame for so many years."
Broader Context of Sexual Offense Justice
Cresswell's case highlights systemic issues in how sexual offenses are handled. According to latest government figures, 209,556 sexual offenses were reported to police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025, with Rape Crisis estimating this represents only about 15% of actual offenses.
Charges were brought in just 4.2% of recorded sexual offenses during that period, with Crown Prosecution Service data showing only about half of those cases result in convictions—roughly 2% overall.
Legal Action and Calls for Change
Cresswell is now suing Northumbria Police, claiming the force breached her human rights by failing to conduct a proper investigation. She wants the force to publicly acknowledge failures and push for broader systemic change.
"The more people who hold the police to account publicly, the more it's in the public eye, the more scrutiny they get, and the more they'll be forced to change," she said.
Catherine Knight, senior solicitor at the non-profit Good Law Project supporting Cresswell's claim, stated: "It's time for police forces to protect women, instead of giving them the brush off."
Harriet Dowse-Bland, a solicitor at the charity Centre for Women's Justice, added: "Sadly, we do regularly see under-resourced police investigations that are characterised by long delays, lack of access to support services, and investigating the victim more than the suspect."
Police Response and National Initiatives
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said the force has apologized for their 2010 response and subsequent distress, noting that "policing practices nationally have improved significantly over the past decade." The force is part of Operation Soteria, a national initiative to enhance outcomes for victims of sexual offenses.
A Home Office spokesperson stated: "We expect the police to investigate and respond to all reports of sexual violence in a timely manner" and noted they have declared violence against women and girls a "national emergency" with the "largest crackdown in British history" to halve it within a decade.
Cresswell, who was forced to take two years out of campaigning because stress from discussing her assault gave her shingles, remains determined: "Even though it nearly killed me, I would do it all again because I just couldn't not."
