It is committed by abusers from all walks of life, ethnicities, cultures and classes and it robs children of their childhoods and tears families apart. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. It drew statistics from organisations such as Barnardo's but the findings were considered inconclusive by expert academics because not all the figures had been compiled in the same way and ethnicity had not always been noted with each reported crime. 17 miles | Rochdale, Manchester Features: Front+Back Dual cover,360 protection. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? The legal documents involved in the case revealed one of the women, who was 12 at the time, was passed around "like a ball" between "thousands" of men for rape and sexual abuse. During that period, Amber by now pregnant and living in a one-room flat continued to be targeted by the grooming gangs. It was absolute disrespect that vulnerable young people did not have a voice. She specifically spoke of her abuse at the hands of two members of the gang who would later be jailed four years. A tribunal heard Aziz, known as "the Master", has been told he will not be deported by the Home Office. PDF Hassan others sentencing remarks - 11 May 2012 - Judiciary Child sexual exploitation has been uncovered in towns, cities and counties all over the country and it affects both girls and boys from all backgrounds. My name has been dragged through the mud. [1] The abusers paid small sums of money for the encounters. PDF Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation - GOV.UK A Serious Case Review published in 2013 concluded that the authorities 'struggled to empathise' with the girls, partly because they were from poor backgrounds, giving them a 'skewed picture of their behaviour'. 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UK: More Muslim rape gang arrests in child sexual exploitation May stated the revocations were "conducive to the public good". "[30], Tim Loughton, the Minister for Children and Families, said that while there was no evidence that ethnic communities condoned child sexual abuse, he was concerned that some had been slow to report it to the police, and urged police and social workers not to allow "political correctness around ethnicity" to hinder their work to apprehend such criminals. revealed by the telegraph were allegedly sent in 2020 after mr. farage shared a video of himself drinking at a pub a fortnight earlier. Finally, after a gruelling 18 months and several hearings, the judge threw the case out. it's reported matt hancock considered this to be a potent breach of the regulations And then, in July 2009, an experienced CPS lawyer ruled the victim was not credible and decided that the two men who raped her should be released without charge. Four members of the grooming gang including ringleader Shabir Ahmed face deportation to Pakistan. Details. That nightmare should have ended with the arrest and trial of the perpetrators, but instead the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and even social services treated her not as a victim but as a perpetrator. [5], In March 2015, Greater Manchester Police apologised for its failure to investigate the child sexual exploitation allegations more thoroughly between 2008 and 2010. "We would get free alcohol and cigarettes, food, free taxis," she said. I think it was because they were afraid of being called racist. "[35] By May 2012, according to The Independent, Crop had "gone suddenly silent" concerning the percentage of abusers of Asian origin who had come to the organisation's attention: Willmer explained to the paper: "We've been accused of being a cover for the BNP". Rochdale is also being considered as part of the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse, which is examining whether authorities across the country took the problem seriously. Amber had, under pressure from the abusers, taken some of her friends to the takeaway where the ringleaders operated from. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? She told me: So it didnt happen to anybody else. He said: We now know that Rochdale was not an isolated case. [48][49], A further investigation was carried out by the British government in December 2020, when the Home Office published their findings, showing that the majority of child sexual exploitation gangs were, in fact, composed of white men and not British Pakistani men.[50][51]. Taxi driver Abdul Qayyum, 44, of Rochdale, - known by the name "Tiger" - was jailed for five years. Read about our approach to external linking. Three women who were groomed, raped and abused by gangs of men in Rochdale have received "substantial" damages and an apology from Greater Manchester Police. Handout pictures released by Greater Manchester police in 2012 show eight of nine men convicted in connection with the child sexual exploitation ring. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. One victim was forced to have sex with at least 20 men in one night; another was forced to drink vodka, and was vomiting over the side of the bed while being raped by countless men. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Top row, left to right, Abdul Rauf, Hamid Safi, Mohammed Sajid and Abdul Aziz; bottom row, left to right, Abdul Qayyum, Adil Khan, Mohammed Amin and Kabeer Hassan, Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of a gang of Asian men who groomed young white girls for sex. Mr Watson told the women it was "a matter of profound personal regret that your childhood was so cruelly impacted by the dreadful experiences which you endured". [25], The findings have been questioned by researchers Ella Cockbain and Helen Brayley, from whose work for the UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science The Times report had drawn much of its evidence. She had worked on Operation Augusta in 2004 which examined the sexual abuse of white girls by Asian men in Hulme and Rusholme. O-2246. . After having been appointed head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in November 2008, Sir Keir's half decade in the position oversaw cases as large and polarising as the Rochdale grooming . They ripped away all my dignity". Sign up and we will email you daily with the best of our political and news coverage while also giving you a taste of our most-popular lifestyle, opinion and personal blogs. The company's owner said that due to requests, clients could choose to have a white driver but this was reversed after 50 Asian drivers protested. We were making referrals from 2004, very explicit referrals, referrals which absolutely highlighted for protective services that young people were incredibly vulnerable, she said. Social services became involved when she started to arrive at school dirty and sometimes smelling of alcohol. He was a married father-of-five and religious studies teacher at a local mosque. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. 2023 BBC. "[2][11] Shabir Ahmed's threatening behaviour and calling Judge Gerald Clifton a "racist bastard" resulted in him being banned from the court for the sentencing hearing. Julia Hartley Brewer 'horrified' by Rochdale grooming case Two girls aged 13 and 15 and a 13-year-old boy were groomed by the three men between September and October 2014 after repeatedly going missing from care. This eventually led to the successful prosecution of nine men for offences included rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child. In December 2013 a further five men were jailed after an investigation into the sexual abuse of a girl was reopened following the exposure of police failings. [32] The inquiry issued its final report in November 2013. But she changed her mind when Operation Span came knocking and she was given cast iron assurances the victims would be supported. In October 2010 the M.E.N. One victim, a 15-year-old known as the Honey Monster, acted as a recruiter, procuring girls as young as 13 for the gang. Rochdale grooming gang members could be deported after judges uphold ruling to strip them of British citizenship Khan, who also trafficked a 15-year-old girl to others, using violence when she. Even when the authorities did recognise the problem, their slow reaction allowed the abusers to carry on exploiting their victims for years. Nazir Afzal, the newly-appointed chief crown prosecutor for the north west, reversed the decision not to prosecute the two who had been arrested and eventually authorised the charging of ten men in June 2011. Since being released from jail, the men have fought a long legal battle against deportation, mounting multiple legal challenges and appeals, spanning several years. he'd been at a trump rally in the states under lockdown rules. Amber was understandably reluctant to trust the police. However, it is not possible to conclude that this is representative of all group-based CSE offending. These involved the grooming and sexual exploitation of several girls, aged in their early teens. [1] One 13-year-old victim recounted that, after being forced to have sex in exchange for vodka, her abuser immediately raped her again and gave her 40 to not say anything about the incident. [32], Wendy Shepherd, child sexual exploitation project manager for Barnardo's in the north of England, said that since she started working with the organisation, there has been "a shift from the men selling children in ones or twos to something that is much more organised in groups and networks. 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By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. [53], On 13 March 2015, Greater Manchester Police apologised for its failure to investigate child sexual exploitation allegations more thoroughly between 2008 and 2010. The victims were coerced and bribed into keeping quiet about the abuse by a combination of alcohol and drugs, food, small sums of money and other gifts. They had to be assured that, as victims of sex crimes, they would be guaranteed anonymity for life. How the Rochdale grooming case exposed British prejudice [46], The Rochdale case was one of several cases which prompted investigations looking into the claim that "the majority of the perpetrators have been British Pakistani"; the first was by Quilliam in December 2017, which released a report entitled "Group Based Child Sexual Exploitation Dissecting Grooming Gangs", which claimed 84% of offenders were of South Asian heritage. Rochdale groomer facing deportation tells tribunal 'we have not [8], Some gang members told the court the girls were willing participants and happy having sex with the men. Of the 56 offenders convicted since 1997 for crimes relating to on-street grooming of girls aged 11 to 16, three were white, 53 were Asian of which 50 were Muslim, and most were from the British Pakistani community. 08 April 2021 The Rochdale grooming scandal was one of the most horrific cases of child sexual abuse in recent times. The dramatisation tells the story of three children who were victims in the scandal and stars Maxine Peake as sexual health worker Sara, who recorded and reported cases of child abuse for years. The gang of nine men received jail sentences of between four and 19 years from a judge who said they treated their victims as though they were worthless and beyond any respect. Case studies 41. 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Nine men between 24 and 38 years old were arrested on suspicion of sexual activity with a child. It is worth remembering though that none of it would be happening without a frightened, angry girl who had been raped venting her rage in a takeaway in Heywood and then being courageous enough to speak about what had happened. Nine men of mainly Pakistani heritage were convicted in 2012 after a long, complex trial for offences that happened in and around Rochdale in 2008 and 2009. As a result of police failures to respond to evidence, the men who had groomed the three children were able to continue . Fear of racism isn't to blame for the police's failure to stop grooming Research has found that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white. When we met in a hotel in Rochdale last month, Amber was accompanied by Maggie Oliver, a former police detective who walked out of the job in protest at the way Amber had been treated. Read about our approach to external linking. Now we have to confront forced marriage among Travellers', "Rochdale paedophile ringleader is named", "Rochdale child sex ring: nine men jailed", "Rochdale Child Sex Ring: 'Master', 'Tiger' and Seven Others Guilty of Rape and Trafficking", "Rochdale grooming leader guilty of child rape", "Rochdale grooming trial: Nine men jailed", "Members of Rochdale grooming gang face deportation to Pakistan", "Arrests made in second Rochdale sex grooming scandal", "Police vow to arrest even more child sex suspects", "Ten men charged over Rochdale child abuse claims", "Revealed: conspiracy of silence on UK sex gangs", "Rochdale grooming trial: Police accused of failing to investigate paedophile gang for fear of appearing racist", "Rochdale grooming trial: Asian grooming gangs, the uncomfortable issue", "Report 'downplays sex abuse by Asian men', "Quitting the English Defence League: When Tommy Met Mo", "Sexually exploited children are at further risk in care, says Barnardo's", "Child sex trafficking study sparks exaggerated racial stereotyping", "Grooming offences committed mostly by Asian men, says ex-Barnardo's chief", "Rochdale featured in sex grooming documentary", "Heywood: Rochdale town at the centre of child sex ring", "Why the Rochdale 'grooming trial' wasn't about race", "Complaints over use of 'Asian' label in grooming cases", "It's time to stop using the word 'Asians', "UK Hindus, Sikhs protest 'Asian' label for culprits", "Rochdale taxi firm boss in 'race choice' U-turn", "Child grooming and sexual exploitation: are South Asian men the UK media's new folk devils? The harrowing real-life drama followed the stories of three teenaged girls who were abused at the hands of a Rochdale grooming gang It looked into the alleged grooming of children in council. Actress Maxine Peake starred in the series as Sara Rowbotham, the sexual health aid worker who first uncovered the patterns of severe abuse in the area, but struggled to bring it to the attention of authorities. The case is another example of the worrying number of girls who . Three trials were conducted where jurors were told of how these men preyed specifically on young girls under the age of 16 from vulnerable backgrounds. She gave the police a list, at an early stage of Operation Span, with nicknames, telephone numbers and other details relating to offenders. Last Tuesday Amber, with two other victims of the Rochdale grooming gang, finally received an apology delivered personally by Stephen Watson, the chief constable of Greater Manchester police (GMP). The ID parades were particularly gruelling for Amber, who did 12 in one day alone, correctly identifying 10 of her abusers. Something went wrong, please try again later. [33] After members of the Rochdale gang were sentenced, the UK's Department for Education announced new funding for a specialist foster care scheme to protect vulnerable children in residential care, where some victims had been. She was being shared around paedophiles across the north of England. The book oers intimate details of the lives that they've never publicly revealed. Oliver had been headhunted to join the grooming gangs case as detective and victim liaison officer in 2010 because of her experience working with vulnerable victims. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? The inspector concluded the abuse could have stopped if the authorities had stepped in sooner. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Ive got a box in the back of my head, and I just put it all in there and its locked away.. Police drove her home and told her they could not do anything because they did not have the man's name. which was prompted by high profile cases of sexual grooming in towns including Rochdale and Rotherham. Britain's 'WORST EVER' grooming gang: '1,000 girls raped, beaten & even Find Jobs. independent.co.uk. I agreed to help the police to stop it happening to others, Amber wrote to Oliver in the midst of her campaign for justice. Without Ambers initial evidence there might never have been a trial at all. Two members of the Rochdale grooming gang are set to be deported to Pakistan after a seven-year legal battle following a ruling by immigration judges. Although police interviewed a total of 56 men on suspicion of abuse, only a handful were tried. After the trials conclusion, there were public apologies from the police, the council and prosecutors for failing the victims. Lawyers for Rauf said the law demands consistency of treatment and although Rauf could regain his Pakistani nationality simply by signing a form, he refuses to do so because he does not want to be deported. Rochdale grooming gang members lose appeal against deportation to Pakistan Richard Moriarty; Jonathan Reilly; Published: 21:11, 8 Apr 2021; Updated: 21:11, 8 Apr 2021: 21:11, 8 Apr 2021 Social media companies assisting MTU in wake of cyber attack, High Court hears,In an update to the court the judge was told that 6GB of data taken from MTU's IT system had been made available for publication by the hackers. In subsequent cases, the racial and religious background of perpetrators have been exploited by some - but there have also been accusations that authorities were slow to act on concerns for fear of being dubbed racist. [31], In late 2011, the Office of the Children's Commissioner began a two-year long inquiry into child sexual exploitation by street gangs. He said that of convictions involving child sexual exploitation, 87% were of British Pakistani men and it was a significant problem for that community. said in its review into child sexual exploitation after the trial. Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation: Characteristics of Offending Page 2 of 57 Operation Retriever 42 Operation Brooke 44 . Press Release: Rochdale Grooming Survivors Win Historic Victory "[39], Nazir Afzal, who as the newly appointed chief crown prosecutor decided to bring the case to trial, said that sex, not race, was the key issue: "There is no community where women and girls are not vulnerable to sexual attack and that's a fact. The hearing was adjourned with a decision on deportation expected later this year. Nothing happened. They talk about the choices they've made, their relationships, families, frustrations and hopes. But once the CPS advised the GMP that she was no longer seen as a suspect, she was persuaded by Oliver to begin a series of video interviews and ID parades. . What's the least exercise we can get away with? How the system failed the children who were raped during the Rochdale Stephen Watson, chief constable of Greater Manchester police, made a personal apology to three of the Rochdale victims. The Manchester Evening News reports how the former delivery driver and dad-of-four encouraged his victimsto call him daddy. "It's not a normal relationship when your boyfriend is getting you to sleep with all his friends for money.". Adil Khan, 51, and Qari Abdul Rauf, 52, are . Because she was not involved in the trial, and therefore did not give evidence, she had no opportunity to defend herself. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. "I was scared telling them, because I didn't know what the consequences would be from the men. Members of the Conservative Growth Group formed by Liz Truss allies out of the ashes of her departure met Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in Downing Street on Tuesday to put forward their requests, Playbook has confirmed. As a responsible publication the M.E.Ns editors respected this request from senior detectives at GMP and eventually our story was published a few months later. Starmer's Shambolic CPS - Medium But she added: "They're just brainwashing you so you think you love them so you do what they say. She noted that white male predators on the street tend to work alone. [25][26][27] A report by the deputy children's commissioner in 2012 said that 33% of child sex abuse by gangs in Britain was committed by British Asians, where Asians are 7% of the population, but concluded that it was "irresponsible" to dwell on the data. She told me: It wasnt like a forced thing. What happened to the Rochdale grooming ring and how many men were found guilty in the child sex abuse scandal? He continued: "GMP could and should have done much more to protect you and we let you down.". involved the grooming and sexual exploitation of several girls aged in their early teens.