The City of Melbourne has agreed to pay $95,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who accused police of mishandling the investigation into her 1990 rape when she was a child, records obtained by News 6 show.

Elizabeth Bradshaw was 11 years old when she claims a family acquaintance snuck into the bedroom of her Melbourne home and raped her.

Although Bradshaw identified the man by name in 1990, Melbourne Police Department records indicate that detectives did not question him at the time and he was never arrested.

Bradshaw, 47, learned in recent years that physical evidence collected by police on the night of the attack, including a rape kit and her semen-stained nightgown and underwear, had been “disposed”.

Without that physical evidence, the state attorney’s office said it cannot prosecute the man, who still lives in Brevard County. News 6 is not identifying him since he has never been charged with the crime.

Bradshaw sued the City of Melbourne for negligence last year, alleging the police department mishandled the child rape investigation.

[WATCH: City of Melbourne settles lawsuit with 1990 child rape victim]

Although the lawsuit was filed under the initials “E.B.” to protect the plaintiff’s identity, Bradshaw has publicly identified herself as the rape victim.

“This has never, and never will be, about money for me,” Bradshaw told News 6 after the settlement had been reached. “I could care less about money. But unfortunately, the only way to make them care is money.”

The $95,000 settlement will be paid with insurance funds, a city spokesperson said.

An attorney for the city previously said in court papers that what happened to Bradshaw was “abhorrent and tragic” but argued that cities, in general, owe no legal duty to provide police or security protection to specific individuals.

“(The) City of Melbourne has denied and continues to deny any and all liability for any of the aforesaid claims, injuries and damages,” the settlement agreement states.

“I’m very glad that they made the right choice of settling now, instead of letting this drag on,” Bradshaw said. “I think some common sense came into play, and they realized they were going to lose one way or another.”

In November 1990, records show Melbourne police responded to the home Bradshaw shared with her single mother.

The 11-year-old told investigators she had been awakened in her bed by a family acquaintance lying on top of her.

Bradshaw said the man sexually battered her for five to ten minutes before leaving out the front door.

As investigators photographed the crime scene and collected Bradshaw’s clothing and bedding, records indicate an officer transported the 11-year-old to the emergency room where she underwent a sexual assault forensic exam, commonly known as a rape kit.

Months after the attack, Bradshaw said she was informed the family acquaintance had committed suicide.

“My mom told me that my rapist killed himself,” Bradshaw said in a 2023 interview with News 6. “I had no reason not to believe her.”

[WATCH: Woman seeking justice in her 1990 rape in Melbourne learns evidence is missing]

But in October 2022, Bradshaw discovered her alleged attacker was still alive when she said she came face-to-face with him inside a Brevard County gas station.

“I hadn’t seen him in over 30 years, and I knew who he was. My whole body just kind of froze,” said Bradshaw. “I was crying, and I kept trying to tell myself he was dead.”

Bradshaw immediately contacted the Melbourne Police Department, which informed her the agency had disposed of all the physical evidence and most of the paperwork related to the 1990 child rape investigation.

Police officials gave Bradshaw a copy of the initial incident report that noted “the suspect was not located or contacted.”

The agency also found a Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab report confirming semen had been detected on vaginal swabs collected from Bradshaw at the hospital on the night of the rape. The nightgown and underwear Bradshaw had been wearing were also stained with semen, the lab report showed.

“It says right there in black and white, ’11-year-old little girl covered in sperm.’ I could not have done that to myself,” Bradshaw told News 6. “And they did nothing.”

Melbourne Police located a “chain of custody” log that indicates FDLE returned the physical evidence to the agency in October 1991, nearly one year after the reported rape, but police could not find the items in the department’s evidence storage room or other facilities.

The agency later conducted an internal audit but was unable to determine why the evidence was destroyed, who authorized the disposal, and when it occurred, records obtained by News 6 showed.

In November 2022, after discovering her alleged rapist was still alive, Bradshaw said she made a “controlled call” to the man using her personal cell phone as a detective with the Melbourne Police Department listened for a confession or admission.

During the call, Bradshaw had a severe emotional outburst and yelled at the alleged perpetrator while asking why he raped her, the lawsuit states.

The man refused to speak to Bradshaw and hung up, records show.

When detectives later confronted the man in his Brevard County mobile home community, he claimed he did not know Bradshaw and adamantly denied raping her when she was a child.

“I know I would never do that,” the man told detectives before declining to speak further without an attorney present. “I don’t know how I ended up there, if I ended up there.”

Although there is no statute of limitations in Florida for sexually battering a child under the age of 12, prosecutors told Bradshaw they cannot file criminal charges against her alleged rapist, in part because there is no longer any physical evidence that can be subjected to modern DNA testing and presented at trial.

Bradshaw credits her attorney, Damon M. Baxley, for helping her pursue litigation against the city more than three decades after the crime occurred.

“There was nothing easy about this,” Bradshaw said. “But my attorney is fearless, and he fought this battle with every bit of him.”

“No amount of money could ever provide full compensation for the Melbourne Police Department’s atrocious misconduct,” Baxley previously told News 6. “However, Mrs. Bradshaw’s bravery in speaking out about negligent police investigations will help other victims avoid similar tragedy.”

Despite the absence of physical evidence that could be used to prosecute the accused rapist, Bradshaw said she hopes the state attorney’s office will review the case.

“The only justice is when he’s in jail. He needs to be held accountable,” Bradshaw told News 6. “Yes, the city needed to have to face their negligence too. But there’s a rapist – a child rapist – literally roaming the streets of Brevard County. That’s not okay.”