Victim of ex-detective sex attacker 'felt failed' by system

A woman sexually assaulted by a former police officer while he was on bail has told the BBC she was failed by the police and the courts.

She spoke out as her attacker, Dominic O’Brien, was jailed for three years.

The former Sussex Police detective inspector, 55, was convicted of four counts of sexual assault against her.

In an interview with BBC News, his victim, Lia Dumbrill, waived the anonymity victims of sexual crimes are entitled to.

Lia, who was 16 years old when she was assaulted, said: “It just sickens me that he’s been able to get away with it for so long.”

O’Brien assaulted her in 2019 while he was on bail for another sexual offence.

Two years prior, he had been caught by an undercover Leicestershire police officer sending sexual messages online about wanting to rape an 11-year-old girl.

He was given a six-month suspended sentence for that crime in 2020.

But his offending stretched back even further.

In 2006 O’Brien was a detective inspector with Sussex Police. He was suspended from the force over sexual messages he sent to the 14-year-old daughter of a murder victim whose case he’d been investigating.

O’Brien resigned from the police days before a disciplinary hearing, and no further action could be taken against him. Sussex Police says it carried out a criminal investigation but prosecutors decided not to prosecute.

Ms Dumbrill believes an opportunity to stop O’Brien was missed all those years ago.

“I think the police were probably scared to have one of their own put into the system,” she said.

“They want to protect their own… because he was a police officer he thought he was untouchable.”

She believes he should have been dealt with much earlier.

“It’s frustrating, because if they had dealt with it – then that’s years of people not having anything happen to them… My life would be completely different.”

Despite reforms which are supposed to have improved the system for victims, Ms Dumbrill who is now 20 years old, found the process leading to O’Brien’s conviction gruelling.

“It makes the victim feel like they’re the one being questioned,” she said. “I felt like I was the criminal even in court with the defence lawyers calling you liars and things like that. It’s horrible.

“I understand why people don’t do it. And it’s hard because when you’re going through traumatic experiences, you want to block it out as much as you can.”

In her victim impact statement, Ms Dumbrill described how the trauma of the assaults had led to her dropping out of college and leaving her local area.

“I would have panic attacks when I saw older males around the college,” she said. “The panic attacks became so frequent I would have to leave my lessons.”

But she feels vindicated after what she believes are the previous failures to put O’Brien in prison.

“I’m glad that I managed to get him convicted. I’m glad that I managed to stop him, so many people didn’t.

“Grown adults saw what he was doing and left it alone whereas me as the child had to decide to take it further…That’s the first and foremost important thing is that he didn’t get away with it this time.”

During the sentencing at Brighton Crown Court, Judge David Rennie referred to O’Brien’s former role as a police officer, saying his time in the police meant he understood “better than most” the trauma of sexual assault.

“You saw her as a plaything from whom you could get some kicks,” he said. “Your serious previous conviction and her obvious vulnerability are aggravating factors.”

In a statement Sussex Police said: “Dominic O’Brien resigned from Sussex Police 15 years ago whilst under investigation.

“The allegations made against him were fully investigated at the time, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) determined that there would be no criminal prosecution.

“Police officers who abuse their position of trust have no place in policing and we are committed to proactively rooting them out and ensuring victims feel confident to come forward.”

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found via BBC Action Line.