Woman aims to raise £100,000 for UK’s first crowdfunded rape case

A woman is trying to crowdfund a rape prosecution after an investigation failed to bring charges against her alleged attacker.

Emily Hunt, who has waived her anonymity, claims she was drugged and raped at a hotel in May 2015.

She has no memory of meeting the man, only waking up naked in bed next to him.

Ms Hunt reported the incident to police and claims her alleged attacker admitted that sex had taken place.

However, after an investigation the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided there was "insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction".

Ms Hunt, from London, has described the police’s toxicology report as "flawed" and claims there were "deep problems" with the investigation.

Metropolitan Police insist their investigation was "thorough".

The force said those who report a sexual offence are "always provided with support", although Ms Hunt says she did not receive a call from Victim Support until December 2015.

One year on from being told nothing could be done, she has hired a barrister in the hope of pursuing a private prosecution and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for it – the first of its kind in the UK.

Ms Hunt is hoping to raise £100,000 to "pursue her own rapist" and also fund another private prosecution for another victim.

She says she wants to "make it clear to the CPS and everybody who is doing this that rape is now a prosecutable offence in the UK".

Citing figures from Rape Crisis England, she told Sky News: "Under 15% of rapes in the UK are actually reported to the police and of that 15% we’re getting single digit conviction rates.

"The CPS’s own research has shown that if a woman says she’s been raped, 98% of the time she has been.

"We’re in a very difficult spot with that, we need to be doing better, and I think that I can help with that."

Her campaign has already raised more than £15,000.

(c) Sky News 2017: Woman aims to raise £100,000 for UK’s first crowdfunded rape case