Lucy John

Lucy’s writes about three childhood sex abuse survivors who were failed by two police forces. It follows a story Lucy wrote in October 2022, when one of the survivors, Michaela Allen, opened up about her ordeal - describing how her alleged abuser was never charged despite CPS advice to do so in the 1990s. She was told that her case would never be reopened because police were unable to find the childrens’ taped interview recordings, which is vital evidence. As a direct result of the original story, police found the lost footage and reopened the case. Lucy’s recent story describes how a further litany of police failures destroyed a new prospect of the case reaching the courts. Since this story was published in October 2023, Lucy published a third follow-up when one police force formally apologised to Michaela for its errors.

Lucy’s also tells the story of 16-year-old Elizabeth who was sexually abused by her biological father at the age of 11. The abuse happened when social services put her in his care. Lucy mentioned this high up in the copy to highlight how Elizabeth should never have been put in this position. Not only was she failed by her father, she was failed by the service that’s sole purpose was to protect her. Throughout the interview, Lucy asked Elizabeth if she was still happy to continue, making sure she was comfortable with the accompanying photographer. During the interview, Elizabeth’s confidence grew and she suggested reading her victim impact statement on camera. This was extremely powerful and a rare piece of journalism - especially given her age. Lucy covered the sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court. She included details from the case along with the interview to create a powerful and complete feature. Not only did the story impact Elizabeth, who said it gave her back control, It also showed others how they can be taken seriously when abuse is reported to the police. It was read more than 50k times on WalesOnline and was published by other sites including MEN, MyLondon and Mirror.

She also told the truth about cocaine in Wales. It stemmed from a previous story Lucy wrote about a young man who died during a cocaine comedown. Lucy learnt how widespread cocaine use is and how harmful it is from an exploitation, crime and health perspective. She sourced interviewees by trawling through old inquest stories, approaching drug charities, and revisiting interviewees. To complete the story, she interviewed a police drug lead and intensive care consultant, which gave the story credibility. It revealed cocaine’s impact on public services and showed a side to cocaine that many recreational users likely don’t consider: that they are supporting exploitation. The story was read more than 50k times and led the WalesOnline website. It was published by the MEN and led the Western Mail weekend magazine. Several journalists shared the article, with one calling it “excellent” and another calling it a “must read”.