Ministry of Justice: Apology as victim's details sent to stalker

An investigation has been launched after justice officials shared intimate details about a victim with her jailed stalker.

In 2019 Rhianon Bragg was held hostage at gunpoint by her ex-partner Gareth Wyn Jones at her home in north Wales.

He was jailed for four-and-a-half years in 2020, and will have a parole hearing in the new year to discuss his potential release.

The Ministry of Justice has apologised to Ms Bragg.

As part of that parole process, public protection officers put together documents about the case.

They included confidential and sensitive reports from a clinical psychologist about the impact Jones' crimes had on his victim and her children.

Those full reports should never have been shared.

Ms Bragg fears the information given to 58-year-old Jones could be used as a new weapon against her.

"It's horrific," she said.

"They have armed a dangerous man."

She said learning of the privacy breach was a fresh "trigger" for her, that brought back the trauma of her ordeals at the hands of Jones.

She ended what she previously described as a controlling and threatening five-year relationship with the mechanic in 2019.

But the threats and harassment continued. On the night of 15 August, he arrived at her home near Caernarfon, armed with a shotgun.

He held her hostage until she convinced him to let her attend a doctor's appointment, and he was arrested in the car park.

He was jailed for stalking, false imprisonment, making threats to kill, and a firearms offence.

Ms Bragg has since called for improvements in the way police and the justice system deals with stalking and domestic abuse, including more investment in prevention services.

She said she now had "no faith" in the criminal justice system.

"They have blown away what miniscule rights I had," she added.

"As innocent victims I thought me and my children would be protected."

She said she felt her jailed stalker's privacy was protected more than hers.

"I've been made to feel inconsequential - that my rights don't matter as much as his."

Ms Bragg said she was determined to highlight the mistake by justice officials, for fear it had happened to others going through similar ordeals.

She has received the backing of local politicians, including Senedd member Sian Gwenllian.

The Arfon MS said the error by the Ministry of Justice was "completely unacceptable".

"Sharing sensitive and confidential information with the perpetrator is a serious and shocking incident that should never have happened," she said.

"Steps need to be taken to ensure that even more pressure is not placed on victims due to the incompetence of the system."

A Ministry of Justice official said: "The government has made significant changes in recent years to better protect stalking victims, so we are deeply sorry for this unacceptable mistake and the distress it has caused Ms Bragg.

"We take this type of error extremely seriously and an investigation is underway to understand what happened."

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