Police close alleged rape case at Kingfisher Court in Radlett

The patient, a man from the Watford area, was treated at Kingfisher Court in Radlett in Autumn 2020 when he was allegedly attacked by two other patients.

According to the mother, he was offered a drug by two men, who assured him he would be kept safe, but was then taken to the back garden and raped.

Hertfordshire Constabulary has now told the Observer that “a thorough investigation” was carried out, but the case has closed for the time being.

Police say all lines of enquiry were carried out and a man was interviewed by specially trained officers.

A spokesperson said: “At this time, there is insufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal case.”

Police says that officers carried out a "thorough investigation"

However if any new evidence comes to light, police will act “accordingly”.

In October last year, the mother told the Observer that her son was moved to another hospital in Essex, but she was not told why at the time.

After his discharge, she suspected something was wrong and was eventually told of the alleged rape.

Nearly two years later, she continues to question how Kingfisher Court handled the situation.

She believes staff knew of the alleged attack but sent the two suspects together to another hospital without informing them of the incident until police were involved.

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The Care Quality Commission (CQC) previously said it was aware of the allegations but they would await the outcome of the police investigation before intervening.

A spokesperson now said: "We are aware of a police investigation into an alleged incident at Kingfisher Court, which concluded with no further action being taken.

“While CQC is not an investigative body, we use all information received to inform our continued monitoring and inspection of services.”

Despite police no longer investigating, the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Trust, that runs Kingfisher, held an internal investigation.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “The safety of our service users and staff is our priority. We always take any allegations of inappropriate or criminal behaviour very seriously and carry out thorough investigations.

“Police have concluded their enquiries and decided that no further action will be taken.”