My girl, 15, ran away with a 31-yr-old man and the police refuse to

WORRIED mother Sarah Down is going through every parent's nightmare. Her 15-year-old daughter Katie is living rough with a man in his 30s...and she can't do a thing about it.

Sarah feels let down by the very people she expected to come to her aid - the police and social services. As far as she is concerned, they have turned a blind eye to the whole affair and have taken no action to halt the relationship.

But police say they can't act on a complaint of unlawful sexual intercourse unless it comes from Katie - and social workers don't want to force her to go home against her will.

This leaves Sarah frantic with worry as Katie spends her time living rough with 31-year-old unemployed car valeter Derek Rice. She has even been sleeping with him in his silver Subaru in a car park and garage in their home village of Topsham, Devon.

Mum-of three Sarah, 34, who works as a carer and split from Katie's father Robert Carthew several years ago, said: "I feel as if I have lost my daughter. It's amazing that none of the authorities are willing to do anything about it."

Sarah read about the successful conclusion of the Shevaun Pennington case - in which a 12-year-old girl left Britain to be with a former US marine she met over the internet.

Katie is just three years older than Shevaun and Rice is the same age as the ex-marine Toby Studabaker. But while Shevaun's case was treated as an abduction with a huge international search, Katie's plight goes on.

"I'm shocked the police and social services seem to be turning a blind eye to a girl of 15 living with a man of 31," said Sarah.

Before Katie met Rice, she was a normal schoolgirl, but by her 15th birthday last October she had dumped her 16-year-old boyfriend, was in trouble for skipping school, and was flouting all attempts to keep her at home.

Sarah said: "Katie met him last year when she and her friends got talking to him in the street. I knew him because I'd dated his brother years earlier."

Having the attentions of a man twice her age gave Katie status among her mates and also propelled her into adulthood - far too quickly.

Soon Katie was staying out overnight and dodging school. Eventually, official letters arrived concerning her truancy.

But Katie's disappearances increased until she came home at Easter after being away for two weeks and her mum gave her an ultimatum to choose her family or Rice.

She chose Rice and has not been home in three months - while Sarah now lives in no-man's land of worry.

Rice was tracked down on Friday to a public car park in Clyst St Mary, near Exeter. He was inside his Subaru Impreza car with a girl who looked like Katie. When approached, he drove off without comment.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: "We cannot arrest someone for not wanting to be at home. Any complaint of sexual abuse or unlawful sexual intercourse can only be pursued if it comes from the victim."

A social services spokesman said: "Forcing a person of 15 to live at home until their 16th birthday could result in months of conflict that could have a negative effect on her and the family."

colin.wills @mgn.co.uk

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