Police reinvestigate case of woman who won court battle over alleged sex assault after visit to Sunderland nightclub

Nina Cresswell claims William Hay attacked her after they met at a nightclub in Sunderland when she was a 20-year-old student in 2010.

She reported it to police soon after, but they closed the probe within hours.

Mr Hay, from Glasgow, sued her for damages after she posted about the allegations online 10 years later, claiming the posts had caused him “great embarrassment, distress and damage to his reputation”.

He denies the claims.

She won the legal fight at the High Court last month after a judge ruled she “proved” he “sexually assaulted her” and had established a “statutory defence of truth”.

Mrs Justice Heather Williams also said Ms Cresswell had shown that “statements complained of” were “on a matter of public interest”.

Ms Cresswell told PA news agency: “On Bank Holiday Monday I got an email saying the case had been reopened.

“They didn’t investigate properly 13 years ago and in 2020 when it was reopened. I feel like it should be positive but I worry it is to cover their own back. I feel like they are only doing it so there is a better light on them.”

During the court case, Mrs Justice Williams was told Northumbria Police officers had decided not to treat Ms Cresswell’s complaint of sexual assault as a crime.

The judge added: “She promptly reported the crime to the police, believing that they would investigate the matter and bring the perpetrator to justice.

“However, her treatment by the police was deficient and their investigation superficial.

“She was interviewed whilst she was still affected by alcohol and had not slept. She was not given the chance to check any record that officers had made of what they believed she had said.

“A number of misunderstandings likely arose and her words that the assault was ‘like a nightmare’ were misconstrued and accorded undue significance.

“The officers also placed too much weight on CCTV footage from (a bar), failed to undertake the fuller investigation that was warranted and prematurely assessed and rejected her credibility, deciding not to treat the defendant’s allegation as a crime within hours of her first report to police.

“She reported the sexual assault to the police shortly after it happened.

“After speaking to her whilst she was still under the influence of alcohol and when the investigation was still at a preliminary stage, the police wrongly decided within a matter of hours that no crime had been committed.

“She was disillusioned and disheartened by the police response, and she felt that there was no point in her trying to take matters further at that time.

“She did not then speak publicly about the sexual assault for 10 years, but remained very upset about it and increasingly felt guilty that in not speaking out about the claimant’s conduct she may have failed to protect other women.

“She was aware that he continued to work as a tattooist at a prominent tattooing parlour.”

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “We can confirm we are reopening the investigation into the report of a sexual assault from 2010.

“It would therefore be inappropriate to comment any further at this stage.”

A spokesperson for the Good Law Project, which supported her in the court case, said: “Nina’s case will protect the many women who are sued when they name the men who sexually assault them, by providing a new defence for those who are brave enough to speak out.

“It’s valuable and it’s important. But what women really need is a better criminal justice system – one that serves survivors and deters predators.”