Groomed girl, 16, 'thriving' in home before death

A teenager who took her own life in a children's home was "thriving" in the weeks before her death, an inquest has heard.

Rhianan Rudd was 16 when she died at a home in Nottinghamshire on 19 May 2022, months after terrorism charges were dropped when it emerged she had been exploited by far-right extremists in the US.

An inquest at Chesterfield Coroner's Court heard she was "deeply scared" about further action being taken against her, but had been making "positive" developments since her arrest.

Social workers from Derbyshire County Council said they did not believe she was at risk of self-harm or suicide at the time of her death.

Rhianan was living in Bolsover when she was arrested by Derbyshire Police on 22 October 2020, later becoming the youngest girl in the UK to be charged with terrorism offences, which were later dropped in December 2021.

The inquest was previously told she was groomed by an American far-right extremist, who had sent her "racially-motivated links" to read.

In April 2021 she had been taken into Bluebell House Residential Home after a series of incidents at her home, including several instances of self-harm and running away.

Tom Carty, the Derbyshire County Council social worker responsible for her between November 2020 and March 2022, had said in a statement he "had a sense of hopelessness and sadness" about early home visits, but said his relationship with Rhianan was soon "going from strength to strength".

He said the situation with Rhianan improved once she had moved into the children's home.

"The visits to Bluebell House were much more positive and more future-focused," he said.

"It's just my hypothesis, but maybe she felt freer or more able to speak outside of home."

Paige McMahon was the county council's social worker responsible for Rhianan after she was arrested in October 2020.

She moved departments the following month, handing the case over to Mr Carty, before she returned to take over from him in March 2022.

Ms McMahon said she was amazed by the "dramatic change" in Rhianan in the time since she had last seen her, and said she was "really thriving" at the home.

"I'd describe her as almost a completely different young person," she said.

"When I came back in March 2022, we all considered Rhianan's mental health to be quite stable."

Ms McMahon said she did not have specific concerns over Rhianan, as she believed she had responded well to being in the home, and though she had been involved at the time of the arrest, she did not consider her return to be "triggering".

"I think she was upset Tom [Mr Carty] was leaving," she said.

"She had built up a lovely relationship with him."

While restrictions on Rhianan's movement and mobile phone use were in place to prevent radicalisation, Ms McMahon said there had been positive developments compared to her previous involvement, including an upcoming apprenticeship to work with horses.

Though Rhianan was reported to have concerns around the police investigation into her case, Ms McMahon said the general improvements compared to the time around her arrest were still notable.

"In the broader context with what was going on for Rhianan at the time, the positives outweighed the concerns," she said.

"She was very much planning towards the future."

The inquest continues.

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