Police took more than three years to investigate the suspected abuse of a vulnerable elderly woman and, in the meantime, the alleged victim died.A senior prosecutor revealed yesterday she was first handed a file about “Miss C” and the two men who allegedly physically and sexually abused her, as well as financially exploited her, on January 25 this year.That was 12 days after the 78-year-old senior passed away.Bermuda Police Service, along with the National Office for Seniors (NOSPC), received a complaint about the alleged abuse from Shadow Health and Seniors Minister Louise Jackson as far back as summer 2007.It is understood an earlier complaint by someone else may already have been made.In October 2008, The Royal Gazette revealed that Miss C was placed under a protection order after then Cabinet Minister Dale Butler ordered the NOSPC to do everything in its power to safeguard her.The case centred around claims that two men, aged 65 and 44 at the time, had moved into the senior’s home on the pretext of looking after her and maintaining the property. Instead, it was alleged, they subjected her to slaps in the face, exposed her to pornographic films, took naked photographs of her and bullied her into handing over money.Miss C, who is understood to have had learning difficulties and who had no family in Bermuda, was taken into care and her home boarded-up. The two men were banned from the house.This newspaper reported in September 2009, based on information from a source, that a file had been passed by police to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and a decision on whether to press charges was imminent.Neither police nor the DPP challenged the accuracy of the article but yesterday Senior Crown counsel Cindy Clarke told this newspaper: “I can confirm that the file in relation to ‘Miss C’ was delivered to our offices by the Bermuda Police Service for the first time on January 25, 2011. I know that the police file was delivered to our offices on January 25, 2011, as it was given to me directly.”Ms Clarke did not respond to a question about whether the alleged abusers would now face criminal charges under the Senior Abuse Register Act 2008.Police would not comment yesterday on why their inquiry took so long. Detective Sergeant Derricka Burns, from Western Criminal Investigations, said: “The file is presently with the DPP office and I am awaiting a response from them on this matter.”BPS spokesman Dwayne Caines said: “If the file is in the hands of the DPP that is the critical issue. We typically do not get into discussions about the length of time or the process by which a file makes its way to the DPP.“We believe that is a matter for the DPP, the BPS and, potentially, the courts. We will not be drawn into making a comment.”John Payne, acting manager of the NOSPC, said he requested a progress report from the DPP but had not yet received one.“We have been in touch with them around the time that the lady died,” he said. “We asked for an update and the counsel who was dealing with it was about to go on leave.”He revealed there has yet to be a successful prosecution under the Senior Abuse Register Act, which came into effect three years ago, and there are no names on the Senior Abuse Register (see separate story).Mrs Jackson claimed last night Miss C’s case was “bungled from the beginning”.“She did not get justice,” said the Opposition MP. “Her case was reported to the police very early on. I called them and asked for help. I wanted it stopped and nothing was done [until 2008].“This was handled in the worst possible way. This poor woman lost her home; she lost her freedom and was placed in a rest home, where she certainly did not belong.”Mrs Jackson alleged: “She was exploited by these men and they have not been brought to justice.”Claudette Fleming, executive director of Age Concern, said Miss C’s case highlighted the lack of “teeth” in the Senior Abuse Register Act and the absence of a proper support system for the Island’s elderly.“She moved [into a rest home] against her will,” said Ms Fleming. “That had its consequences. She rapidly declined. She needed some type of custodial care, not residential, but someone to go in and check on her. She was doing it all along by herself, save that people were moving in and they took over her finances.“This wasn’t the first time this had happened to this particular lady.”