The mother of a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly groomed and raped by an older boy months before taking her own life broke down in court as she recounted how her daughter was left “destroyed mentally and physically”.
Semina Halliwell, from Southport, died at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital on June 12, 2021, after overdosing on prescription medication. An inquest into her death began on Monday (January 13) at Bootle Town Hall, led by coroner Johanna Thompson.
The court heard that Semina overdosed on prescription pills shortly after leaving a police interview at her home, telling her mother Rachel that she had “had enough”. The Year 7 Stanley High School pupil had allegedly endured months of bullying and harassment following the alleged sexual abuse by an older boy in January 2021.
During the inquest, Rachel Halliwell stated that contact between her daughter and the boy began in the summer of 2020, when Semina was just 11 years old. She said: “She was under a lot of pressure.”
“She told me that she tried to put him off several occasions, making excuses up to not meet. He tried different tactics, started to be nasty but that didn’t work so he started to be nice again. I could see from their messages that she was terrified when the act happened – just before it.”
Breaking down in tears, she said her daughter had confided in her that the boy – who was not named in court – had raped her. She said: “She said he took her into the woods and he sat her on a tree stump and he took his trousers down… She said she kept saying no.
“She said she was scared. She said it was horrible. It destroyed her. It destroyed her mentally, physically. She changed into a different person.
“She felt bad about herself. She looked bad. She thought bad things about herself. She felt used. Of course to keep it a secret from everybody meant she wasn’t allowed to speak about it. It just destroyed her completely.”
Semina Halliwell’s mum broke down in tears as she told how her daughter was “destroyed mentally and physically”
Ms Halliwell said Semina, who was diagnosed with autism, had previously been “a happy little girl (with a) big friendship group”, “very popular at school” and “very popular with her teachers”. But this changed in 2020 around the time her daughter moved from primary to secondary school, the ECHO reports.
She said: “She started to self harm. She became very withdrawn and very sad.” She said she reached out to CAMHS, the mental health support service for children, adding: “She didn’t tell me about it. She used to hide it from me.
“She’d put tights on so I couldn’t see her legs and the tops of her arms were covered. But eventually I saw. This was completely out of character for Semina. We had gone from a happy little girl to a girl who was self harming.
“I didn’t even know how she’d know to even do that. And she was so sad. I tried to talk to her many times and ask ‘what’s making you so unhappy? Something must have happened’.”
She said her daughter frequently used social media such as Snapchat and Tiktok to keep up with her friends during the Covid-19 lockdown, and that she was not aware of what Semina was doing when she was alone in her room.
Ms Halliwell said it arose that a naked photograph of Semina had been shared among pupils at Stanley High School, and she called the school to express her concern. She said she did not specifically ask the school to address the issue at the time.
Semina Halliwell was just 12-years-old when she died after taking an overdose of prescription tablets
In March 2021, Semina told her mum she had previously taken four prescription tablets, leading to Ms Halliwell emailing the school saying her daughter “had attempted to kill herself by taking an overdose”. That same month, the 12-year-old told her mum about the alleged rape, which had occurred two months earlier.
She also showed her mum a video of her being attacked by a group of other children, who were not Stanley High School pupils. She said: “She didn’t tell me at first but she had bruises on her neck and I asked her and she just showed me a video that was online, and it was her being beaten up. I asked who is it in the video, who are these people, and she then told me who these people were and why they were doing it.
Ms Halliwell reported the alleged rape and assaults to the police. However, Semina “initially didn’t want to talk about what happened. Ms Halliwell said: “Semina wanted to do an ABE (achieving best evidence interview) but she was so very frightened at the time so there was a lot going on. And it was only Semina and myself. There was no support, no advice for me, no advice for Semina. We were just left in the situation.
“Then the PC called on a Sunday and asked if she could do an ABE at 11am that day, and there was just no way I could have said to Semina ‘we’re going to do an ABE today’ because she just couldn’t do that. Firstly she liked her routine.
“Secondly you just can’t spring something on Semina like that. Thirdly she was worried about all of this. She was scared what was going to happen when it all came out. I just think if there had been a lot more support at the time it could have been very different.
“But at the time, you go into that situation you don’t know what to expect and don’t know what’s there for help and support. So when she spoke to the officers, the officers said to her that it was her word against his.”
The Year 7 student at Stanley High School had allegedly endured months of bullying and harassment following sexual abuse by an older boy
She said this was why her daughter withdrew her complaint, adding: “Because she felt like she wasn’t believed and it’s not going to go anywhere. To say to a 12-year-old child ‘it’s going to take 18 months to two years to go to court, and do you really want it hanging over your head?’ and ‘it’s your word against his’ is not what any woman or child who has been through a sexual assault or rape needs to hear.”
She said her daughter continued to be harassed by other children until her overdose on June 9 2021. That night, police officers attended the family’s house following another report of harassment, and were combing through CCTV.
Ms Halliwell said Semina was “determined” to go through with an ABE interview after learning of a previous allegation of sexual assault against the same boy who had targeted her. Ms Halliwell said: “She told me that what had happened to her (and) the other person, she wanted to stop him doing it to anybody else again.”
At around midnight, Semina said she had “had enough” and went upstairs. Her mum said: “I took it that she had enough of police being in the house, and also had enough of everything. There was so much that had happened at home and at school.
“While talking to the police about how we got to this place and what had started from the beginning, I just assumed she had had enough of talking about it.”
Police left the house at around 12.30am. A short time later Ms Halliwell found empty packets of prescription tablets on the floor, and Semina told her she had taken them. She was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where her condition deteriorated and she died on June 12.
Ms Halliwell went on to say Semina had been offered “no help, no support, nothing” after reporting what had happened to her. She said: “The officers, the way they spoke to her and the way they presented themselves to her, in my view, was unprofessional.
“Not how you should speak to a 12-year-old child who has gone through a sexual experience of rape like she had done. The fact that they didn’t care. I felt like it was an inconvenience to them. It was almost like they couldn’t be bothered.”
The inquest continues.
You don’t have to suffer in silence if you’re struggling with your mental health.
Here are some groups you can contact:
Samaritans: Phone 116 123, 24 hours a day, or email jo@samaritans.org, in confidence.
Childline: Phone 0800 1111. Calls are free and won’t show up on your bill.
PAPYRUS: Suicide prevention charity offering professional help and support to children, young people and anyone concerned for someone struggling with life. Call HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039 967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org.
Depression Alliance: A charity for people with depression. No helpline, but it offers useful resources and links to other information.
Students Against Depression: A website for students who are depressed, have low mood, or are suicidal. Click here to visit.
Bullying UK: A website for both children and adults affected by bullying. Click here.
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): For young men who are feeling unhappy. There is a helpline: 0800 58 58 58 or visit the website.
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