RAPE victim Vish Patel waited nine agonising years to see her childhood abuser brought to justice.

After mustering the courage in 2017 to confide in cops about her ordeal, she had hoped her vile tormentor would be swiftly held to account for his historic crimes.

Rape victim Vish Patel waited nine agonising years to see her childhood abuser brought to justice Credit: Doug Seeburg

After mustering the courage in 2017 to confide in cops about her ordeal, she had hoped her vile tormentor would be swiftly held to account for his historic crimes Credit: Doug Seeburg

But the case was plagued by delays as police officers switched jobs, went on holiday or claimed they were too short-staffed to progress their probe.

When Vish’s claims finally got to court, her attacker’s trial was also subject to hold-ups.

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Incredibly, proceedings were at one point abandoned as the court translator was speaking a different dialect to the prosecution’s witnesses.

And when the trial finally got fully under way earlier this year, Vish faced the disruption of hearings being relocated due to repairs being carried out at the crown court.

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Each setback compounded the anguish of waiting for justice to be served.

It was not until last month that Vish’s abuser Vipin Patel, 69, was jailed for 18 years for two counts of indecent assault, one of indecency with a child, one of attempted rape, and four counts of rape.

The charges date back to when podiatrist Vish, who is now 46, was between 13 and 15 years old.

But in her evidence, she suggested she was as young as seven or eight.

Vish, who has waived her right to anonymity, told The Jattvibe: “I believe the system needs urgent improvement.

“No victim should have to wait years for justice. Delays don’t just postpone court hearings, they prolong trauma, prevent people from moving forward with their lives and can discourage others from coming forward.

“We need a system that is better resourced, more efficient and places victims’ wellbeing at its heart.

“Patel can’t harm me. He can’t harm anyone else. But nine years to get here . . . How many more are out there? And how many more people are quiet about it? And how much more is this going on?”

Today, The Jattvibe can reveal that, sadly, Vish’s case is just the tip of the iceberg.

Our investigation into rape cases uncovered a chilling snapshot of the ordeal faced by those who report such horrendous crimes.

We covered six rape trials across the UK and found that victims face not only delays and disbelief but, in some cases, they are actively discouraged by police from pursuing complaints.

One case we followed took four years to get to court; another was postponed; and a third was delayed because barristers were too busy.

Sick predator Vipin Patel with victim Vish when she was a child Credit: Vish Patel

Vish wants a system shake-up after harrowing legal delays Credit: Doug Seeburg

Elsewhere, a jury acquitted one accused, but he faces another rape case next year. In a separate case, cops wrongly told a woman they could not further her complaint because she “didn’t say no” to her alleged attacker.

And the victim of an alleged gang rape was warned that the chances of a conviction were “slim to none”.

Recalling the “terrible” moment she decided to report Patel to police in Croydon all those years ago, Vish revealed the process was confusing and overwhelming from the outset.

And she claimed she was not even given information about what happens when historic sex abuse is reported.

Vish, from north London, said: “To get yourself through that door and to say to them, ‘Yeah, I’ve got something to tell you . . .’ At least give me a piece of paper and explain procedures.

“They should give you all the information on how it works from day one, because later down the line, that messed me up.”

As well as a lengthy prison stretch, Patel was banned from contacting Vish and will be on the sex offender register for the rest of his life.

Women’s Aid spokesperson Veronica Oakeshott said The Jattvibe’s investigation “demonstrates why there is so little trust between survivors and police, and the appalling impact that lack of understanding and training of officers can have on women”.

She continued: “It’s a shocking reality that conviction rates for crimes against women and girls, including domestic abuse and sexual assault, remain stubbornly low, while perpetrators continue committing crimes with impunity.”

Rape Crisis wants changes to the criminal justice system and said victims faced “protracted and traumatic” waits for justice.

The charity’s stats reveal that one in three rape trials was delayed in 2024, compared to one in ten in 2015, with some cases postponed up to six times.

Police last year recorded the highest number of rapes ever at 74,174 — up on 70,898 the previous year.

In a victim impact statement which she read in court, haunted Vish said: ‘What happened to me did not stay in my childhood’ Credit: Doug Seeburg

Vish added: ‘It followed me into every stage of my life, into my teenage years, adulthood, relationships, marriage, motherhood, work and my sense of trust and safety’ Credit: Doug Seeburg

Yet conviction rates are alarmingly low at around three per cent.

Meanwhile, Government data shows that adult rape cases take on average 371 days to progress from charge to completion in the court system — and historic child abuse cases like Vish’s can take even longer.

Patel, who was married to Vish’s cousin, sexually assaulted and raped her as a youngster. But when she found the strength to speak out in her teens, her own mother did not believe her.

It was only after the death of a much-loved auntie later in life that Vish felt able to go to the police.

However, the staff shortages and department changes which contributed to a delay in progressing the case were compounded by the Covid pandemic and the backlog of work that hit courts.

The mix-up over what language a court translator was meant to be speaking caused more upheaval two years ago.

Parts of a subsequent trial this year were then re-sited to a magistrates’ court building because Harrow Crown Court was undergoing repair work.

Describing her childhood rape ordeal, Vish revealed that, when she was a young teen, Patel got her addicted to smoking and bought her booze in a bid to control her.

Vish, who has written a book called Say Something Tell Tell Tell, adds: “I think I must have been about 12 or 13. I was under-age, I didn’t have the ID to buy them. So I would go to him for the cigarettes and then he’d rape me. He also got me addicted to Bacardi and Coke.”

In a victim impact statement which she read in court, haunted Vish said: “What happened to me did not stay in my childhood. It followed me into every stage of my life, into my teenage years, adulthood, relationships, marriage, motherhood, work and my sense of trust and safety.”

And Vish is not alone, as our probe into the six other cases found.

At Durham Crown Court, a 24-year-old man was due to stand trial for raping a young woman known to him in 2022.

It was delayed until October because barristers were still dealing with an unprecedented backlog, caused by a combination of the pandemic, funding cuts, the rise of matters involving complex digital data and an increase in sexual assaults and serious crimes.

In Yorkshire, a man was acquitted on two counts of rape, but faces a second trial for allegedly attacking a different woman early next year.

At Inner London Crown Court, a man accused of raping two women had his case postponed when the jury was discharged on the second day of his trial.

It will restart in December, meaning two complainants will wait 14 and 15 months respectively for their allegations to be heard. Another London court case heard how police told a rape victim they could not go ahead with her complaint because she had not said “no” to her attacker.

Vish said: ‘No victim should have to wait years for justice’ Credit: Doug Seeburg

Vish added: ‘Delays don’t just postpone court hearings, they prolong trauma, prevent people from moving forward with their lives and can discourage others from coming forward’ Credit: Doug Seeburg

The woman, in her 60s, claimed her partner had assaulted and raped her in December last year. But an ­interviewing officer wrongly told her that, because she had not “refused”, “unfortunately, we cannot prove it”.

However, her attacker was convicted of rape and actual bodily harm and will be sentenced next month.

In a northern town, a woman who claimed she was gang-raped was told by a female cop that the chances of securing a conviction were “slim to none”. A jury heard she was just 14 when three teenagers, aged between 15 and 16, attacked her at a house party in 2009.

She told the court she complained at the time and a female officer “sat me down and told me it’d be a really painful, drawn-out process, it’d make it really hard to move on from if I pursued it.” The woman said she was told: “Three against one . . . the chances of anything coming from it are slim to none.”

In May, the jury found one man not guilty by a majority verdict of anal rape and one man unanimously guilty of assault by penetration.

The jury could not decide on a second charge of oral rape by the latter.It also struggled with a charge of vaginal rape and sexual assault charges for the third defendant. It is not yet known whether there will be a retrial for the unproven charges.

In Hove, East Sussex, Liam Nicholls, 26, was convicted of rape after attacking an older work colleague in November 2022. A jury heard the security guard ignored pleas from his victim to stop. The case took nearly four years to get to court and prosecutors only decided to charge Nicholls last year.

Our findings reflect the state of the justice system for women UK-wide.

Lucy Duckworth, national policy lead at The Survivors Trust, said rapes are not treated with any more sensitivity than other offences.

She said: “Currently, there is no mandatory requirement for any police officer or court staff to have training in working with victims of abuse with a trauma-informed or therapeutic approach. There is also no statutory support services funded for survivors going through this life-changing, ­traumatic experience.

“As a result, the response can often feel dismissive, undermining and out of control, which further deters other survivors from speaking out while failing to provide an adequate deterrent for those who seek to perpetrate sexual violence. As such, the cycle continues. Numbers of rape and child sexual abuse are continuing to rise at an alarming rate.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The Jattvibe is right to shine a light on these horrific crimes and victims’ wait for justice, which has been far too long. This is exactly why this Government is pulling every possible lever to improve the devastating ­situation we inherited. Our action is starting to stabilise the backlog, but only reform, combined with investment and modernisation, can turn the tide to deliver faster justice.”

A Met Police spokesman added: “Vipin Patel was a sick predator who has been brought to justice thanks to the bravery of the victim-survivor.“We acknowledge the impact delays have had on her and we are deeply sorry it has taken so long to secure justice. Since 2022, we have worked to improve the way we investigate ­violence against women and girls.”