LONDON — A woman drugged and raped from the age of 15 has spoken publicly for the first time about what she says were police failures that allowed her abuser to avoid justice for more than 30 years.
Tina Duggan says she repeatedly sought help from authorities during and after years of abuse by Frederick Allchorne, but her allegations were not properly investigated. Allchorne was jailed in 2023 for 22 years after admitting rape, administering drugs with intent, indecent assault and bigamy offences against her.
The Metropolitan Police has since paid compensation after settling a civil claim over its handling of her original complaint. The force has acknowledged that more should have been done to protect her.
How Tina Duggan says the abuse began and where she was held
Ms Duggan says she met Allchorne when she was 15, after visiting her father following his release from prison in 1984. She says he was 10 years older than her and that she was later held at a shared house in Sutton, south London, for six years.
According to her account, Allchorne lived there with his brothers and was already married when he went through a marriage ceremony with her. She says she did not know he had a first wife. She had her first child at 16 and a second soon afterwards, and describes herself as extremely vulnerable throughout that period.
She says she often lost consciousness after eating or drinking something. In her words, it was as though she was about to go into an operation, then would suddenly come round again. She still does not know what drugs she was given.
Hospital treatment, refuge and the first police report in 1991
Ms Duggan says the abuse became so severe that, at 17, she was taken to A&E at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton after being at risk of swallowing her tongue, which she believes was caused by the drugs. She says a doctor asked what she had taken, but she did not understand the question until it was explained to her.
She says that from that point she could not understand why she was sent back to the man she says was abusing her. She also believes another of Allchorne’s brothers, now dead, raped her while she was drugged. Her account says other men came and went from the house, and that attempts to escape were blocked by fear, being caught, or having nowhere to go.
In 1991, after reaching a women’s refuge with her two children, she reported Allchorne at Sutton police station. She says officers told her there was not enough evidence, despite her account, hospital records and indecent photographs taken of her. The case was closed within a fortnight.
Legal claim, settlement and what the Met review found
In 2009, the Crown Prosecution Service asked Ms Duggan for a character statement about Allchorne, who was then accused of sexually assaulting three children. He was convicted, but she says the Metropolitan Police still declined to reopen her case.
Her civil claim against the force was brought in negligence and under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment. Her solicitor, Iftikhar Manzoor of Hudgell Solicitors, said the case was about accountability as well as financial redress, and that time limits created legal obstacles before the Met agreed to negotiate.
The settlement, reached on 19 March, was made without any admission of liability. A review by the force’s Directorate of Professional Standards examined how officers handled three reports she made between 1991 and 2018 and found no misconduct by the officers involved.
What Tina Duggan wants other survivors to hear now
The Metropolitan Police said officers had met Ms Duggan and acknowledged that more should have been done at the time to protect her. It added that there had been learnings for the force and that it has since changed how it investigates rape and sexual offences.
A spokesperson said every woman and girl in London deserves to feel safe. The force also said arrests and charges for rape in London have more than doubled in the past year.
Ms Duggan, who has complex post-traumatic stress disorder and several physical conditions, says she is still haunted by what happened. She wants others to know it is never too late to report abuse, however long ago it took place, and says speaking out could help someone else come forward.
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