
this is just diabolical: NHS trust’s cover-up put innocent patient on trial for rape
According to the report, a vulnerable female patient who identifies as transgender was placed on an all-male secure psychiatric ward at Lambeth Hospital in April 2022 and was raped shortly after arriving. The case became even worse when the trust obstructed the police investigation by delaying or withholding records, including patient rosters that were crucial to identifying who was actually responsible.
Because of those delays, an innocent mentally ill man, Luther Badejo, was wrongly put on trial for rape and only cleared midway through proceedings after the withheld records finally showed he could not have been involved. The other defendant, Davointe Thomas, was convicted and given an indefinite hospital order.
The article says police sources accused the trust of going into “self-preservation mode” and acting as gatekeepers of evidence rather than allowing detectives to decide what was relevant. MPs, campaigners, and academics are now calling for a formal inquiry into both the ward placement decision and the trust’s conduct after the rape.