The Times - UK (2022-04-28)

the times | Thursday April 28 2022 25

News

Teenager found dead was

‘lost in fear after rape’

Gaia Pope-Sutherland became “lost
in fear and self-doubt” after an
alleged rape by a sexual offender due
to be released from prison at the time
she disappeared, an inquest heard.
Relatives described how the teen-
ager, who was found dead on a Dorset
clifftop in 2017 after an 11-day search,
“would seem to disappear’’ within
herself after the alleged assault in
2014 when she was 16. She told police
of the incident but he denied the
accusation and was not charged.
Dorset coroner’s court was told
that the student had grown increas-
ingly anxious around the time of her
disappearance because of the im-
pending release.
In a video pen portrait prepared by
her family and played to the inquest
yesterday, relatives described how
the alleged rape had “changed her
life”. The montage told how Pope-
Sutherland “fought bravely to return”

to her family after health relapses

prompted by the incident.

Pope-Sutherland, 19, who suffered

severe epilepsy, was referred to men-

tal health services at an NHS trust in

December 2015 at about the same

time as she told her family of the inci-

dent. She was diagnosed with post-

traumatic stress disorder a year later,

but had been referred back to the care

of her GP weeks before her death.

Rachael Griffin, the Dorset senior

coroner, told jurors that the student

was upset about the decision not to

charge the alleged attacker.

The man, who cannot be named,

was imprisoned over sexual offences

relating to other victims about a year

after Pope-Sutherland made a com-

plaint and was due to be released in

the autumn of 2017.

On the opening day of the inquest

on Tuesday, Griffin said she expected

the inquest to examine the care pro-

vided to Pope-Sutherland, the ac-

tions of Dorset police and the effec-

tiveness of the search operation.

Pope-Sutherland’s body was found by

search teams in undergrowth along-

side a coastal path close to her home

in Swanage.

In the three-minute video played at

Bournemouth town hall, where the

inquest is being held, Pope-Suther-

land’s mother Kim said: “Gaia was a

force of nature and fiercely loyal to

those she loved. Despite being bullied

herself at school, or perhaps because

of this, she was always ready to stand

up for those who needed it. She was a

shoulder to cry on and a friend to be

relied on.”

Her aunt, Talia Pope, said: “After

she shared that she had been raped,

Gaia’s deteriorating physical and

mental health changed her life.

“At times our girl would seem to

disappear, lost in fear and self-doubt.

But she fought bravely to return to us

and her inner light always shone

through the clouds.”

The inquest continues.

Mario Ledwith

A

“super

cuckoo” has

set a record

by flying

more than

60,000 miles from

Gabon to Suffolk (Ben

Webster writes).

PJ arrived back at the

King’s Forest, Suffolk, on

Sunday after starting his

journey from central

Africa in February.

He flew first to the

Republic of the Congo

then pushed on to

Ghana and Ivory Coast,

where he spent a few

weeks refuelling in

preparation for a non-

stop Sahara crossing,

which he began on April

4. PJ arrived in Spain a
   few days later then made
   the final leg of the
   journey along the

French Atlantic coast

and across the Channel

to England.

He has now flown

59,640 miles on six

migrations, setting a

record for the longest

distance flown by a

tracked member of the

species.

He was monitored

with a satellite tag fitted

by the British Trust for

Ornithology (BTO) in

2016 and is known to

have made one

untracked previous

migration. It puts his

lifetime total at about

70,000 miles across

seven trips.

PJ is named after

Pamela Joy Miller, a

bird lover who left the

BTO money in her will.

He is one of six cuckoos

the BTO is monitoring

to help understand why

the UK cuckoo

population has declined

by 38 per cent in 23

years.

The reasons for the

decline are unclear but

could be linked to

pressures on migratory

routes. The

intensification of British

farming may also have

contributed by reducing

the supply of insects on

which they feed.

Dr Chris Hewson, lead

scientist on BTO’s

cuckoo tracking project,

said: “PJ’s performance

continues to amaze us.

We’ve been cheering

him along on his

journey from Suffolk to

the Congo Basin and

back, and we’re

extremely pleased that

he’s completed it

successfully.

“Most importantly, the

data that PJ and the

other tagged cuckoos

provide are helping us to

understand the

pressures these birds

face on their

extraordinary journeys.”

PJ will have to survive

another year to vie for

the crown of the UK’s

oldest known cuckoo,

which was ringed in the

1970s and lived for at

least seven years and 11

months.

The first of the

cuckoos tracked by the

BTO to arrive in the UK

this year was Ellis, who

reached his breeding

ground in Perthshire on

April 21.

Cuckoo’s

60,000

miles on

the clock

PJ the cuckoo

is known to

have made at

least seven

return trips to

Africa

500 miles

Jul 13, 2021

Sets off on

sixth tracked

southerly

migration

Nov 12, 2021

Arrives in Gabon

Feb 22, 2022

Begins migration

north

Apr 24, 2022

Arrives back

in Suffolk,

completing

migration

Spain

Suffolk

Mali

Gabon

African adventure