[22] Suggestions emerged that police and social work departments failed to act when details of the gang emerged for fear of appearing racist, and vulnerable white teenagers being groomed by Pakistani men were ignored. One delivered a takeaway to my house a few weeks back, she tells me. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. Find a Job "I wouldn't go out of the house for nine months on my own without my mum or dad, because I was frightened," she said. Maggie Oliver was again left fuming when one of the girls she had talked round - a victim of abuse - was placed in the indictment that went before the jury. Hamid Safi, then 22 and of no fixed address, was convicted of trafficking girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation and sentenced to four years. [19] The testimony of one of the five victims of the Rochdale grooming ring revealed the depth of the exploitation she suffered. The second woman was 14 when the abuse began. Three Girls review a brave new focus on the Rochdale child sexual abuse scandal, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Even when the authorities did recognise the problem, their slow reaction allowed the abusers to carry on exploiting their victims for years. Two members of a Rochdale grooming gang are to be deported to Pakistan after losing a seven-year legal fight to remain in Britain. 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). [24], The case raised a serious debate about whether the crimes were racially motivated. The investigation slowly built a compelling case, away from the public gaze. Writing in The Guardian, Cockbain and Tufail wrote of the report that "The two-year study by the Home Office makes very clear that there are no grounds for asserting that Muslim or Pakistani-heritage men are disproportionately engaged in such crimes, and, citing our research, it confirmed the unreliability of the Quilliam claim". It was said he came to the UK on a lorry in 2008 and claimed asylum and would be deported to Afghanistan at the end of his sentence. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Her complaint was not taken seriously and she carried on being abused by the gang until December 2008 when she fell pregnant and moved away. Of the three not convicted, one was cleared of all charges, the jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case of the second, and the third was not present at the trial after fleeing to Pakistan whilst on bail. ", "Lesley Sharp: 'What happened to the girls in Rochdale is never far from my mind', "British-Pakistani researchers say grooming gangs are 84% Asian", Failing victims, fuelling hate: challenging the harms of the 'Muslim grooming gangs' narrative. Two men who were part of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang have lost an appeal against deportation back to Pakistan following a seven-year legal . 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. One victim, a 15-year-old known as the Honey Monster, acted as a recruiter, procuring girls as young as 13 for the gang. 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. They werent bothered when youre from a shit home. But their nightmare was only just beginning . Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61. Ringleader Shabir Ahmed was originally handed a 19 year sentence which was upped to 22 years for repeatedly raping a girl. Greater Manchester Police have arrested a number of suspects involved in historical grooming gang crimes committed against women between 2002 and 2006 in Rochdale, England, one of the country's most notorious grooming gang epicentres. Research has found that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white. But she added: "They're just brainwashing you so you think you love them so you do what they say. Because she was not involved in the trial, and therefore did not give evidence, she had no opportunity to defend herself. In some cases those girls were raped, callously, viciously and violently. They contend that clouding the issue by calling them "Asians" is unfair towards other groups and detrimental to a frank discussion. You have only got my kind here. 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. A ringleader of a grooming gang has avoided being deported so it would therefore be wrong to deport two other gang members, a tribunal has heard. Who were the men in the Rochdale grooming gang and what happened to them? The report makes recommendations for each of the agencies involved: CAFCASS; Rochdale MBC Children's Services (Targeted services, Safeguarding Children Unit, and Schools); Connexions Rochdale; Early Break (Young People's Drug and Alcohol Service) ; Greater Manchester Police; Pennine Acute NHS Trust; Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust; RMBC [44], One study suggested that the British media's portrayal of South Asian men as perpetrators of sexual violence against white victims is an example of a moral panic. Since being released from jail, the men have fought a long legal battle against deportation, mounting multiple legal challenges and appeals, spanning several years. Rauf, a father-of-five, trafficked a 15-year-old girl for sex, driving her to secluded areas to have sex with her in his taxi and ferry her to a flat in Rochdale where he and others had sex with her. Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood said that about 550 officers were working on Operation Doublet in May 2013. Finally, officers did not challenge a Crown Prosecution Service decision not to prosecute. [53], On 13 March 2015, Greater Manchester Police apologised for its failure to investigate child sexual exploitation allegations more thoroughly between 2008 and 2010. 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. "[54], One of the seven officers retired without any sanctions being taken, even though his misconduct was found to have warranted disciplinary action. BBC Ones new drama Three Girls launched on Tuesday to five million viewers. To date, the CPS has not accepted any failure on its part and instead continues to herald this case as the first successful prosecution of a grooming gang. [2], The victims, vulnerable teenagers from deprived, dysfunctional backgrounds, were targeted in "honeypot locations" where young people congregated, such as takeaway food shops. 2 pairs of Gents White briefs with elasticated front pouch. The victim told police in 2008 Freddie Kendakumana raped her but he was not charged until October 2012. Grooming gangs were able to operate unchallenged, to do part of their work in public spaces, with the confidence of being unchallenged due to cultural sensitivities. Also cited were a lack of managerial oversight in 2008 and 2009 and lack of resources and managerial support for the investigations despite formal requests. Nine men have been convicted of sexually exploiting young girls in Greater Manchester. Details. Khan, Rauf and Aziz were convicted of conspiracy and trafficking for sexual exploitation charges. "[29] Cryer had attempted to reach the Muslim community and persuade it to take action: "I went to a friend of mine, who was a local councillor and happened to be a Muslim and therefore able to represent me to the elders, because I thought it was a good move to try to get those elders involved. I trusted police that I would be helped this time. [23], In March 2015, ten men aged between 26 and 45 were charged with serious sex offences against seven females aged between 13 and 23 at the time. Nine men were convicted of being part of the child sexual exploitation ring, Nazir Afzal regrets that the CPS dropped the original grooming case, Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer. They were. Lawyers for the victims - one who was aged 14 and two who were just 12 at the time of the abuse - successfully argued their human rights were breached by the force failing to protect them. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. May stated the revocations were "conducive to the public good". The case is another example of the worrying number of girls who . Girls aged between 13 and 15 were trafficked, prostituted, raped and assaulted by the gang. Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? But when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reviewed the case in summer 2009, it was decided that the girl "would not be viewed as a credible witness" - a decision not appealed against by GMP - and no prosecution was brought. How long have Keir Starmer and Sue Gray been secretly cooking up their plot? It was only when she met Oliver in early 2012 that things started to change. Convicted rapist who murdered one woman and attempted to murder another. he'd been at a trump rally in the states under lockdown rules. The networks of men come from different backgrounds: in the North and Midlands many have been British Asians; in Devon it was white men; in Bath and Bristol, Afro-Caribbeans; in London, all ethnic mixes, whites, Iraqis, Kurds, Afghans, Somalis". 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. He said that of convictions involving child sexual exploitation, 87% were of British Pakistani men and it was a significant problem for that community. 'No one told me it wasn't normal to be hospitalised for period pains. "[32], The former head of Barnardo's, Martin Narey, said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "For this particular type of crime, the street grooming of teenage girls in northern towns there is very troubling evidence that Asians are overwhelmingly represented in the prosecutions for such offences. Mr Watson said the force should have done more to protect them. Their treatment encompasses a range of catastrophic errors in one of the countrys most harrowing child sexual abuse scandals. Sheer lack of resource, and also the fact that their bosses seemed reluctant to grasp the nettle for fear of being branded racist, contributed to delays in the investigation. [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. This resulted in Greater Manchester Police launching Operation Doublet to investigate further claims of abuse with . If such people know they have been 'rumbled', and they will sense it by the way people look at, behave and react to them, it will help disrupt their activities. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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. Shabir Ahmed received the longest sentence, 19 years for rape, aiding and abetting a rape, sexual assault, trafficking for sexual exploitation and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children. And more than that, she was among a band of white girls who were being specifically targeted by a gang of largely Pakistani-heritage men because, as the trial judge would later acknowledge, the mens victims were not of your community or religion. We need to remember and learn from the mistakes of the past to ensure they are not repeated. The three-part series tells the story of the victims of an infamous child grooming and sex trafficking scandal in Rochdale, and continues on Wednesday night. and judge Jason Manford wondered if they were being pranked by Ant and Dec, Saturday Night Takeaway viewers spot 'flaw' with new game as they pick up on the same issue, Fans flocked to Twitter to have their say, Shoppers flock to buy 2.50 'game changing' item that solves G, Lidl and Aldi pot hoarding problem, The item is one of many ways you can upcycle and reuse your old dessert ramekins, Digital map launched to encourage people to share King's Coronation plans, The Government hopes members of the public will be able to find events happening near them and get involved, Erik ten Hag names the three reasons Casemiro is his Manchester United leader. it's reported matt hancock considered this to be a potent breach of the regulations According to legal documents, there was growing evidence from the early 2000s that gangs of predominantly Asian men were grooming, trafficking and sexually abusing mostly white working-class girls in the town. One woman said she welcomed "some accountability" but did not believe GMP had "really changed their ways". The women, who cannot be named for. A significant proportion of cases were labelled as no further action needed and the leadership team were not interested in childrens social care. The first victim, who was 15 when the abuse began, told the police what had been happening to her in August 2008. Leeds man Robert Glendinning was jailed at Bradford Crown Court yesterday after a judge heard details of his repeated abuse of the children in the late 1970s. Back in the police station, the girl who had just vandalised the takeaway provided a detailed account of the abuse and the perpetrators as well as evidence in the form of her underwear, which carried traces of one of her attackers' DNA. It was said Khan, who is married with one child, fathered the child of a 13-year-old victim. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Were told 84% of grooming gangs are Asian. Although police interviewed a total of 56 men on suspicion of abuse, only a handful were tried. [47] However this report was "fiercely" criticised for its unscientific nature and poor methodology by child sexual exploitation experts Ella Cockbain and Waqas Tufail, in their paper "Failing Victims, Fuelling Hate: Challenging the Harms of the 'Muslim grooming gangs' Narrative" which was published in January 2020. The book oers intimate details of the lives that they've never publicly revealed. She continued to receive phone calls from her abusers, and cars with drivers she recognised were parking outside. Craving love and attention, Amber was lured into a nightmare, subjected to repeated and often violent sexual abuse. Another five-year sentence was given to Abdul Qayyum for conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children, while Hamid Safi received four years for trafficking for sexual exploitation and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children. 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. The force settled the claim before the matter got to court. He continued: "GMP could and should have done much more to protect you and we let you down.". [7] Actress Lesley Sharp played the police detective Margaret Oliver in the series. The M.E.N's crime reporter John Scheerhout gives his insight into the BBC dramatisation of the Rochdale grooming case There were therefore many still walking free that had evaded detection. [16], The trial concluded in May 2012 with the nine convictions. She was later burnt repeatedly with a heated spoon when she refused to comply with the demands of a group of men, but was accused by police of inflicting the wounds on herself and arrested for disorderly behaviour. said in its review into child sexual exploitation after the trial. 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. Speaking at the conclusion of a 10-week trial at Liverpool Crown. [13], As a result of the CPS dropping the case, the police halted their investigation, which was resumed when a second girl made complaints of a similar nature in December 2009. 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. She was later forced into prostitution and at 13, became pregnant by one of the men, Adil Khan, and had an abortion. Search more than 3,000 jobs in the charity sector. "I tried to say no in a nice way, but he wasn't having it.". Despite one victim going to the police in 2008 to report the child grooming, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to prosecute two men, invoking the witness's lack of credibility. . It was then she told police for the first time what was going on. Video, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Violy dies aged 78, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, Nelson's 97th-minute stunner gives Arsenal victory. Police seized the foetus as evidence, but she was not notified, nor was her mother or any responsible adult. Something went wrong, please try again later. Mohammed Sajid was sentenced to 12 years for rape, sexual activity with a girl under 16, trafficking for sexual exploitation and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children. This reluctance was because shed been in this position before. Jailing them, Judge Gerald Clifton said: You have all been convicted by the jury after a long trial of grave sexual offences which were committed between the spring of 2008 and 2010. "What they did to me was evil, they ripped away my dignity, my self-esteem," she said. Writing for HuffPost UK, chief executive Javed Khan of childrens charity Barnardos described Three Girls as absolutely vital viewing.. Case studies 41. A chance to stop the gang was missed in 2008 and both the police and the CPS were forced to apologise for their failings. Adil Khan, 51, and Qari Abdul Rauf, 52, had fought the deportation on human . Show. A separate civil claim launched by the women against the Crown Prosecution Service is ongoing. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Video, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Violy dies aged 78. 2023 BBC. The women, who were abused as children, brought a legal claim against the police force, The men plied their victims with drink and drugs and "passed them around" for sex. The other three are Adil Khan, Qari Abdul Rauf and Abdul Aziz. View our online Press Pack. [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. Rochdale grooming scandal Nine men who abused girls as young as 13 were convicted over a child sex grooming ring, guilty of 21 counts of sexual abuse over a two-year period. 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. The review recommended the Greater Manchester Police establish a monitoring system and commit to maintaining a child sexual exploitation team. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Four members of the grooming gang including ringleader Shabir Ahmed face deportation to Pakistan. Three Girls: Maggie Oliver says known paedophiles are still abusing girls in Rochdale and authorities are 'more interested in covering up mistakes', according to one officer who was involved. I didnt know what that meant. She was held in custody for hours before being released on bail. Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? She told me: Police werent arsed with us, really. 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. 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. A group of twenty men were found guilty in October 2018 of running a child grooming gang in Huddersfield, with the men being convicted of 120 offences against 15 different girls. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. "[40], Hindu and Sikh groups have objected to media use of the "Asian" description saying that the culprits were "almost always of Pakistani origin" and "Muslim". Some of the men involved were arrested, tried and found guilty. "[36] Narey rejected the idea that such gangs were specifically targeting white girls, but suggested vulnerable girls on the street were more likely to be white since Asian girls were subjected to strict parenting and were more likely to be kept off the streets. She added: "The danger with saying that the problem is with one ethnicity is that then people will only be on the lookout for that group and will risk missing other threats. [5] The girls were mainly White British. I push thoughts about the abuse out of my head. Officers on the Rochdale division were under pressure at the time to hit volume crime targets like bringing down the number of burglaries and were overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the grooming problem they had uncovered. The vile group exploited girls as young as 13 and were initially given sentences ranging from four to 19 years. Most of you were many years older than they were. The perpetrators would pass the girls to their friends, often to settle a debt. It was reported he would be deported back to Pakistan following the conclusion of his sentence. Adil Khan (left) and Qari Rauf (right) were jailed in 2012 for a catalogue of serious child sex offences. Shed been the victim of abuse from the age of 14. 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After the trials conclusion, there were public apologies from the police, the council and prosecutors for failing the victims. [1] The abusers paid small sums of money for the encounters. During that period, Amber by now pregnant and living in a one-room flat continued to be targeted by the grooming gangs. 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. He said the actions of criminals who thought "white teenage girls are worthless and can be abused" were "bringing shame on our community. They had to be assured that, as victims of sex crimes, they would be guaranteed anonymity for life. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk, Grooming gang member complains over treatment, Anger as child grooming gang member seen in town, Calls to deport 'appalling' grooming trio, Grooming trio to lose British citizenship, Higher Broughton: Stabbing outside McDonalds leaving boy injured, BREAKING: Boy, 15, in a serious condition after stabbing outside McDonalds, Firefighters tackle waste fire in Milnrow after 'explosion', Delays on M62 Westbound near Birchwood after vehicle overturned, Bolton: Five charged on suspicion of drug crimes, Met Office snow and weather forecast for where you live in Greater Manchester, China looks at reforms to deepen Xi's control, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. But in court, she was portrayed by the prosecution and defence as an assistant pimp. Speaking at the conclusion of a 10-week trial at Liverpool Crown. Now they werent prepared to do that. [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. Adil Khan, then 42, and also of Rochdale was convicted of trafficking a child within the UK for sexual exploitation and received eight years. However, it is not possible to conclude that this is representative of all group-based CSE offending. [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]. Grooming victim: "What they did to me was evil. The Independent Office for Police Conduct quoted a chief inspector on the sexual abuse cases in Rotherham saying "With it being Asians, we can't afford for this to be coming out" - cementing the. It was unfortunate that it was about attitudes towards teenagers. Two of the women's cases formed the basis of the BBC drama Three Girls. Kabeer Hassan was sentenced to nine years for rape and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children. "[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". Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Abdul Aziz received a similar sentence: nine years (concurrently) for trafficking for sexual exploitation and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children. In a case with similarities to the grooming gang scandals of Rotherham and Rochdale, girls were groomed, drugged and raped by paedophiles and victims warn the crimes are still happening. Cryer said, "Neither the police nor social services would touch those cases. ", Higher Broughton: Stabbing outside McDonalds leaving boy injured, BREAKING: Boy, 15, in a serious condition after stabbing outside McDonalds, Firefighters tackle waste fire in Milnrow after 'explosion', Delays on M62 Westbound near Birchwood after vehicle overturned, Bolton: Five charged on suspicion of drug crimes, Met Office snow and weather forecast for where you live in Greater Manchester, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. Between 2003 and 2014, Rowbotham made more than 180 attempts to alert police and social services but was told the witnesses were not reliable. [55], Last edited on 19 February 2023, at 10:03, UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science, Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, List of sexual abuses perpetrated by groups, Post-assault treatment of sexual assault victims, "Rochdale grooming trial: gang convicted for sex trafficking", "Rochdale child sex ring case: respected men who preyed on the vulnerable", "Rochdale grooming trial: Nine found guilty of child sex charges", "Rochdale grooming trial: how the case unfolded", "Rochdale child sex ring: did political correctness delay justice?