How badly does sexual abuse affect a person. More than 30 years after it happened this talented musician could no longer live with the pain that she re-lived by testifying against her abuser.
The treatment of vulnerable witnesses must be improved following the death of a violinist who committed suicide days after giving evidence against her abuser, a serious case review has ruled.
The death of Frances Andrade, 48, a musician at Chetham's School of Music, “could and should” have been prevented and several agencies including the police, mental health teams and the Crown Prosecution Service, failed her, said the report.
The talented violinist killed herself at her home in Guildford, Surrey, UK, a week after giving evidence against Michael Brewer, a choirmaster at Chetham's School of Music.
After her death he was convicted of five counts of indecently assaulting her when she was 14 and 15, jailed for six years and stripped of his OBE (Order of the British Empire).
In the wake of her death there has been mounting public concern over the treatment of witnesses in court and today's findings are like to add pressure for a change in the system.
She had shown unwavering bravery in sacrificing her own safety to save other young girls from abuse at the hands of Mr Brewer, the report said.
She hid her mental health problems to secure justice, refusing to use special measures to shield her from her abuser, but she said afterwards the process felt like “rape all over again".
The report found that the agencies looking after her during the case failed to spot she was becoming an increasing risk to herself.
The review found that at the school, like at other elite performance music, ballet and drama schools, the teachers, often “prominent performers”, were placed in an "exclusive and powerful" position over their protégés.
"Chetham's School provided an ideal environment for this kind of abuse to occur. The school seemed unaware of the risks of sexual abuse and it does not appear to have proactively promoted a child protection agenda," it added.
The report's panel said "boundaries were blurred" and some staff appeared to act at times "with impunity". .
It was in this atmosphere that Brewer abused Mrs Andrade, and it emerged during his trial that he had propositioned other teenagers, but it was hushed up and he went on to become the artistic director of the National Youth Choirs of Britain, to direct the World Youth Choir, serve as an adjudicator in international competitions and lead BBC workshops for the programme Last Choir Standing in 2008.
Mrs Andrade kept the abuse secret for decades until, alarmed that Brewer was still teaching and had access to other aspiring musicians, she contacted Surrey Police and Greater Manchester Police began investigating.
During the trial she was offered special measures but refused, afraid that if her mental ill-health became common knowledge her credibility in front of the jury would be undermined, the report said.
"She therefore seems to have made a principled decision to put her own well-being on hold in order to underline the clarity and, she hoped, the effectiveness of her evidence," the report said.
They said her “vulnerability and mental health difficulties did not, and should not, have framed her as an unreliable witness” and the jury should have heard expert evidence to confirm this.
"In this way it seems as if her courage was on trial, but she did refuse to be goaded by MB into admitting any mental fragility. That she did so was a measure of her public-spiritedness and wish that other young women would not be left at risk of harm from him as she had been,” the report said.
However, meeting her abuser in court took its toll and she made increasingly serious suicide attempts, but proper care measures and adequate risk assessments were not put in place, the report by Surrey Safeguarding Adults Board found.
"Mrs A had reasons to live and she continued to ask for help throughout this period. We therefore invite all the agencies concerned to take real and concrete steps towards improving their practice,” The panel said.
They said the victims are asked to “lay bare details about their lives that are painful and intimate” and therefore criminal justice and mental health services should be able to support them.
Commending her bravery, the report added: "Those services, who held responsibility for her care, were found wanting in a number of ways, and we hope that Mrs A's death will galvanise them to provide more coordinated and skilled care to other victims of historic abuse.
"Perhaps then, Mrs A's wish to protect other young people can belatedly become a reality."
A number of recommendations were made, including for guidelines on police forces sharing information to be drawn up, managers in the police, medical profession and mental health services to supervise cases involving child sex abuse, and expert witnesses to explain to juries how abuse can affect people.
Greater Manchester Police said it would be reviewing their internal policy for investigation of rape and serious sexual offences, but added that the officer in the case had been praised for doing all he could.
Surrey Police said it accepted that "more must be done" to recognise the needs of vulnerable people in and as a result they had already reviewed their processes and would be giving officers more training.
Alan Wardle, head of public affairs for the NSPCC, said: "There is an urgent need to reform how vulnerable people are treated in court. Many victims speak of the cross-examination being almost as bad as the original abuse.
"We know of victims who were cross-examined by eight different barristers for days on end, others who were called liars or asked to relive horrific details of their life that were not relevant to the trial. This is not worthy of our world-renowned justice system and a change is a must.”
There have already been pilot trials using pre-recorded evidence from vulnerable victims to try and limit the number of times the witness is questioned, and the Ministry of Justice said there were plans for a national trial in the near future.
The review added that the media also has a role to play, saying that journalists, broadcasters and editors "should be mindful of the way a person's mental health and their credibility are discussed throughout court proceedings".
The treatment of vulnerable witnesses must be improved following the death of a violinist who committed suicide days after giving evidence against her abuser, a serious case review has ruled.
The death of Frances Andrade, 48, a musician at Chetham's School of Music, “could and should” have been prevented and several agencies including the police, mental health teams and the Crown Prosecution Service, failed her, said the report.
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| Frances Andrade |
After her death he was convicted of five counts of indecently assaulting her when she was 14 and 15, jailed for six years and stripped of his OBE (Order of the British Empire).
In the wake of her death there has been mounting public concern over the treatment of witnesses in court and today's findings are like to add pressure for a change in the system.
She had shown unwavering bravery in sacrificing her own safety to save other young girls from abuse at the hands of Mr Brewer, the report said.
She hid her mental health problems to secure justice, refusing to use special measures to shield her from her abuser, but she said afterwards the process felt like “rape all over again".
The report found that the agencies looking after her during the case failed to spot she was becoming an increasing risk to herself.
 |
| Andrade in teens |
The review found that at the school, like at other elite performance music, ballet and drama schools, the teachers, often “prominent performers”, were placed in an "exclusive and powerful" position over their protégés.
"Chetham's School provided an ideal environment for this kind of abuse to occur. The school seemed unaware of the risks of sexual abuse and it does not appear to have proactively promoted a child protection agenda," it added.
The report's panel said "boundaries were blurred" and some staff appeared to act at times "with impunity". .
It was in this atmosphere that Brewer abused Mrs Andrade, and it emerged during his trial that he had propositioned other teenagers, but it was hushed up and he went on to become the artistic director of the National Youth Choirs of Britain, to direct the World Youth Choir, serve as an adjudicator in international competitions and lead BBC workshops for the programme Last Choir Standing in 2008.
 |
| The Brewers |
During the trial she was offered special measures but refused, afraid that if her mental ill-health became common knowledge her credibility in front of the jury would be undermined, the report said.
"She therefore seems to have made a principled decision to put her own well-being on hold in order to underline the clarity and, she hoped, the effectiveness of her evidence," the report said.
They said her “vulnerability and mental health difficulties did not, and should not, have framed her as an unreliable witness” and the jury should have heard expert evidence to confirm this.
"In this way it seems as if her courage was on trial, but she did refuse to be goaded by MB into admitting any mental fragility. That she did so was a measure of her public-spiritedness and wish that other young women would not be left at risk of harm from him as she had been,” the report said.
However, meeting her abuser in court took its toll and she made increasingly serious suicide attempts, but proper care measures and adequate risk assessments were not put in place, the report by Surrey Safeguarding Adults Board found.
"Mrs A had reasons to live and she continued to ask for help throughout this period. We therefore invite all the agencies concerned to take real and concrete steps towards improving their practice,” The panel said.
They said the victims are asked to “lay bare details about their lives that are painful and intimate” and therefore criminal justice and mental health services should be able to support them.
Commending her bravery, the report added: "Those services, who held responsibility for her care, were found wanting in a number of ways, and we hope that Mrs A's death will galvanise them to provide more coordinated and skilled care to other victims of historic abuse.
"Perhaps then, Mrs A's wish to protect other young people can belatedly become a reality."
A number of recommendations were made, including for guidelines on police forces sharing information to be drawn up, managers in the police, medical profession and mental health services to supervise cases involving child sex abuse, and expert witnesses to explain to juries how abuse can affect people.
Greater Manchester Police said it would be reviewing their internal policy for investigation of rape and serious sexual offences, but added that the officer in the case had been praised for doing all he could.
Surrey Police said it accepted that "more must be done" to recognise the needs of vulnerable people in and as a result they had already reviewed their processes and would be giving officers more training.
Alan Wardle, head of public affairs for the NSPCC, said: "There is an urgent need to reform how vulnerable people are treated in court. Many victims speak of the cross-examination being almost as bad as the original abuse.
"We know of victims who were cross-examined by eight different barristers for days on end, others who were called liars or asked to relive horrific details of their life that were not relevant to the trial. This is not worthy of our world-renowned justice system and a change is a must.”
There have already been pilot trials using pre-recorded evidence from vulnerable victims to try and limit the number of times the witness is questioned, and the Ministry of Justice said there were plans for a national trial in the near future.
The review added that the media also has a role to play, saying that journalists, broadcasters and editors "should be mindful of the way a person's mental health and their credibility are discussed throughout court proceedings".
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