The grieving mother of a radicalised autistic teenager who took her own life has said her daughter was failed by multiple agencies who never saw her as the vulnerable child she truly was.
Rhianan Rudd, 16, died in a children’s home five months after terrorism charges against her were dropped. She had been investigated by counter-terrorism officers and MI5, accused of downloading a bomb-making manual and threatening to attack a synagogue – actions her mother says were the result of online grooming and exploitation by far-right extremists.
Speaking after the conclusion of her daughter’s inquest at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court, Emily Carter condemned the response from authorities, saying, “They didn’t protect her. They didn’t treat her like a vulnerable child. And now, she’s gone.”
Senior coroner Judge Alexia Durran ruled that Rhianan did not conclusively intend to end her life, and though she acknowledged “missed opportunities” in her care, she stopped short of issuing a prevention of future deaths report, saying the failings were not systemic.
But for Ms Carter, the outcome offered little comfort. “She was a child with autism, with mental health issues, who was groomed and brainwashed,” she said. “She was five foot one, seven stone – no threat to anyone. But she was treated like a terrorist.”
Rhianan’s mother described how her daughter’s early obsessions – including My Little Pony – developed into a fixation with German history and Nazi iconography. She was later manipulated by neo-Nazis online through Telegram and Discord, where she was also allegedly sexually exploited.
“She changed completely,” Ms Carter recalled. “She became withdrawn. I thought she was talking to gamer friends, but it was these people who stripped away everything she was.”
The inquest heard that Rhianan was never referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the official system for identifying victims of trafficking – when she was first investigated in 2020. That referral only came over a year later, from Derbyshire County Council.
“That should have been done from the start,” Ms Carter said. “They could see she was vulnerable. They just didn’t act.”
The most traumatic moment, she said, came when police raided their family home with 19 officers and two detectives to arrest her daughter. “It was mind-numbing,” she said. “They were going to cuff her – but even the smallest handcuffs didn’t fit her.”
Rhianan was later diagnosed with autism and placed in a children’s home, despite her mother’s pleas for a specialist mental health placement. She died there after an overdose, following months of distress and radicalisation.
Ms Carter believes her daughter’s life could have been saved if she had received the right mental health support. “She needed people who could understand her brain, calm her mood swings, make her feel safe – not lock her away and forget about her.”
The coroner heard that Rhianan had previously attempted to take her life, calling an ambulance after changing her mind. “She didn’t want to die,” said her mother. “She wanted help. But nobody listened.”
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Ms Carter also criticised the Prevent counter-extremism programme, saying she had referred her daughter in hope, only for it to escalate into criminal proceedings. “I thought it would help unravel her thinking. Instead, they sent officers and tore our home apart.”
Following the inquest, solicitor Anna Moore of Leigh Day read a statement on Ms Carter’s behalf, saying the coroner had confirmed that Rhianan was “denied access to services which should have protected her”.
Ms Carter added: “So many people failed her – the police, Prevent, the council, mental health teams. I’ve lost my daughter. All I ask is that others don’t lose theirs too.”
Rhianan’s brother, Brandon, is said to be “completely lost without her”.
“She was loving, kind – a beautiful soul,” her mother said tearfully. “They took that away.”
