As always you can unsubscribe at any time. 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 . The period during the buildup to the trial of the men accused of being part of the grooming gang, was dark for Amber. The review acknowledged that police officers might have discriminatory attitudes towards the victims, that the victims were interviewed by detectives without training in child exploitation and no strategy when victims returned to their abusers. 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. "He then was saying all the things he had bought for me, and he wanted something back for it. Social services became involved when she started to arrive at school dirty and sometimes smelling of alcohol. 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. It took police 11 months to compile a file of evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after interviewing the young victim from the takeaway on four separate occasions. [32] Ella Cockbain and Helen Brayley pointed out, "There is no criminal offence of 'on-street grooming' and as a result it is very difficult to measure the extent of the crime based on court statistics. [1][2], The oldest person to be convicted, Shabir Ahmed,[16] was for a while the main trafficker of the victims. "[32] Further research has been pursued since late 2011 by the Office of the Children's Commissioner. In some cases those girls were raped, callously, viciously and violently. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Those failings allowed seven youngsters, and potentially dozens more later identified by police, to be exposed to a catalogue of horrific sex abuse at the hands of manipulative predators. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. 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. Abdul Aziz received a similar sentence: nine years (concurrently) for trafficking for sexual exploitation and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children. he'd been at a trump rally in the states under lockdown rules. "What they did to me was evil, they ripped away my dignity, my self-esteem," she said. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. "At first I felt really bad, dirty and ashamed. He said: We now know that Rochdale was not an isolated case. Blind to his grooming, the girls were soon trapped in a terrifying cycle of sexual and physical abuse. Her evidence helped put abusers behind bars, yet Amber was vilified by the authorities and says her torment will never end. One in five children and young people who go missing from home or care is at risk of serious harm, with major concerns about the links between children running away and the risks of child sexual exploitation, it said. [53], On 13 March 2015, Greater Manchester Police apologised for its failure to investigate child sexual exploitation allegations more thoroughly between 2008 and 2010. 'NO REMORSE' Rochdale grooming gang paedophiles launch ANOTHER appeal to stay in UK. which was prompted by high profile cases of sexual grooming in towns including Rochdale and Rotherham. What the police and CPS did to me was worse than the abuse The apology will be a kind of a weight lifted from me. But the nightmare will never really be over. 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. The testimony of one of the five victims of the Rochdale grooming ring revealed the depth of the exploitation she suffered. Following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court, nine men were convicted in May 2012. He shouted in court, "Where are the white people? They were [25] Furthermore, The Times article alleged: "with the exception of one town there is scant evidence of work being undertaken in British Pakistani communities to confront the problem" of "pimping gangs" largely consisting of "members of the British Pakistani community". A new investigation, dubbed Operation Span, was launched. "[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. [2], The victims, vulnerable teenagers from deprived, dysfunctional backgrounds, were targeted in "honeypot locations" where young people congregated, such as takeaway food shops. In other words, victims of horrific abuse had been ignored until one of them - the girl who smashed up the takeaway - finally made her story heard. A separate civil claim launched by the women against the Crown Prosecution Service is ongoing. The Rochdale child sex abuse ring involved underage teenage girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England.Nine men were convicted of sex trafficking and other offences including rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child in May 2012. Two worked for the same taxi firm and another two worked at a takeaway restaurant; some came from the same village in Pakistan and another two men shared a flat. Handout pictures released by Greater Manchester police in 2012 show eight of nine men convicted in connection with the child sexual exploitation ring. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [I] cant remember exactly what they said, but it was something along the lines of being a madam, she recalled. [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. "It will always be there, but I know how to deal with it," she said. 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. When a local teenager was caught smashing up a glass chiller at the Balti House takeaway in Heywood in August 2008, police dismissed it as a simple act of vandalism. She described the Rochdale case as "even more disgusting" than cases of girls being passed around street gangs, as the perpetrators "were grown men, some of them religious teachers or running businesses, with young families of their own. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, 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. NINE men who ran the Rochdale child sex abuse ring were eventually jailed for a string of offences in 2012. Two members of the grooming gang the gangs ringleader Shabir Ahmed and Kabeer Hassan were arrested and released on bail. 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. The patchy training of frontline staff was to blame for the way childrens social care responded to the victims, the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children Board (RBSCB) said in its review into child sexual exploitation after the trial. [10] The gang worked to secure underage girls to rape and exploit.[11][12]. 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. 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. ", "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. The review recommended the Greater Manchester Police establish a monitoring system and commit to maintaining a child sexual exploitation team. 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. [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. Nine men were convicted of sex trafficking and other offences including rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child in May 2012. But their nightmare was only just beginning . He said the actions of criminals who thought "white teenage girls are worthless and can be abused" were "bringing shame on our community. In 2014 an inquiry led by MP Ann Coffey suggested sexual exploitation of children had become normal on some streets and estates in Greater Manchester. In 2015 three men were sentenced for a string of child sexual offences that took place in Rochdale. The ID parades were particularly gruelling for Amber, who did 12 in one day alone, correctly identifying 10 of her abusers. The grooming scandals in Rochdale and similar ones in other cities which involved Asian men, including Oxford and Rotherham, have fuelled fight-wing groups opposing multiculturalism and immigration. This is last 12 4 days ago 9 Raleigh Chilton Gents Bike 17 miles | Alderley Edge, Cheshire 22"frame. [2] One 13-year-old victim had an abortion after becoming pregnant. Vile groupwho ran a child sex abuse ring were jailed for a string of offences in 2012. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Maggie spent six months speaking to the victims from Rochdale and persuaded them to give evidence. Eleanor Williams, now 22, constructed a web of lies that saw in Lancashire 1996-11-05. He was a driver for Eagle Taxis for 14 years and was known as "Car Zero". Team Management: Establish & manage globally distributed, co-located, virtual, cross-functional, high performing self-organizing teams leveraging onsite-offshore delivery models. Exact date yellow weather warning for snow and ice forecast to hit UK - will you be affected? Furious, Maggie vowed never to be part of such an investigation in future. Two members of a Rochdale grooming gang are to be deported to Pakistan after losing a seven-year legal fight to remain in Britain. 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. involved the grooming and sexual exploitation of several girls aged in their early teens. I gave hours of interviews, reliving all the abuse. A 15-year-old girl was ordered to have sex with takeaway worker Kabeer Hassan as a birthday "treat", the judge told the court. 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 On one occasion, she was picked up by police on the moors, miles outside Manchester, and told officers she told a man she did not want to sleep with him and he had taken her coat, thrown orange juice over her, and left her to walk home with no socks or shoes on. [16], The trial concluded in May 2012 with the nine convictions. Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? A much bigger case had been built but, importantly, he simply believed his star witness. I push thoughts about the abuse out of my head. [14] The CPS's original decision was overturned in 2011 when a new chief prosecutor for the region, Nazir Afzal, a first generation British-Pakistani,[15] was appointed. She said that seven officers had been served with misconduct notices, but no further disciplinary action would be taken against them. 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 Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Stephen Watson QPM, has met and personally apologised to three victims of grooming gangs in Rochdale for a catalogue of investigative failings that prevented their abusers from being brought to justice. 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. She has forced the police and social services to apologise to her for their behaviour. What's the least exercise we can get away with? But before what turned out to be the final interview, Oliver says she started to notice a change in tone from senior officers, and felt they were now deliberately trying to push this victim away. There was a complete lack of understanding of the world in which they existed. The grooming and subsequent abuse - which centred around the town of Heywood - began when the woman, now aged 19, was a 15-year-old schoolgirl. The vile group exploited girls as young as 13 and were. I took it online and made 25k', Jasmine Shum turned to Instagram after she was banned from selling her creations in the playground. View our online Press Pack. [35] "The citations are correct but they have been taken out of context," Cockbain told The Independent; "Nor do they acknowledge the small sample size of the original research, which focused on just two large cases." [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. The organisation defined underage grooming as any situation where a child or young person received a gift in exchange for sexual favours. These involved the grooming and sexual exploitation of several girls, aged in their early teens. All three men from Rochdale involved in the appeal were found guilty of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children under the age of 16 and trafficking for sexual exploitation following. Some of you acted as you did to satiate your lust, some of you to make money, all of you treated them as though they were worthless and beyond respect.. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. . "[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". You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk, Grooming gang member in deportation plea over son, Grooming gang member complains over treatment, 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, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. The women, who have been backed by lawyers from the Centre for Women's Justice charity, had brought a legal claim against the force. As a result of police failures to respond to evidence, the men who had groomed the three children were able to continue . [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. There were fears that press involvement would frighten the girls away. I agreed to help the police to stop it happening to others, Amber wrote to Oliver in the midst of her campaign for justice. 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. It was only when she met Oliver in early 2012 that things started to change. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) investigated Kabeer Hassan and another man, aged 59. The apology was made after a review by the Independent Police Complaints Commission "examined the conduct and actions of 13 officers who were involved in Operation Span and the policing of Rochdale Division." . After a troubled upbringing, Amber had been placed on the child protection register as being at risk of sexual and emotional abuse and neglect. They were. [22] Operation Doublet was launched at the same time as an investigation into child grooming and sexual abuse in the region. 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. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Abdul Rauf reportedly asked a 15-year-victim if she had any younger friends and would drive some of the girls to other men who would use them for sex. Part of HuffPost News. The BBC drama Three Girls was based on the Rochdale child sexual abuse scandal. In 2009, when Amber was 16, uniformed officers arrived at her mothers house, arrested her and took her to the police station. The victim told police in 2008 Freddie Kendakumana raped her but he was not charged until October 2012. have fuelled fight-wing groups opposing multiculturalism and immigration. 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. 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. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Nine men have been convicted of sexually exploiting young girls in Greater Manchester. Adil Khan, 51, and Qari Abdul Rauf, 52, are . Khan and Rauf claim deportation would interfere with their human rights. "Most child sexual abuse gangs made up of white men, Home Office report says", "A new Home Office report admits grooming gangs are not a 'Muslim problem', "Rochdale sex-grooming gangs able to flourish due to police errors says report", Greater Manchester Police, Report into Rochdale CSE investigation, 13 March 2015, "No officers to be charged over Rochdale child abuse failure, say police", The Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children Board, Review of Multi-Agency Responses to the Sexual Exploitation of Children, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rochdale_child_sex_abuse_ring&oldid=1140279348, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 10:03. She told me: So it didnt happen to anybody else. Police said the victims were from chaotic, council estate backgrounds and as many as 50 girls could have been victims of the gang. Two of the women's cases formed the basis of the BBC drama Three Girls. It was like a casual, Oh, bring your friends. She was a vulnerable child, being sexually abused, controlled and in fear. revealed by the telegraph were allegedly sent in 2020 after mr. farage shared a video of himself drinking at a pub a fortnight earlier. 17 miles | Rochdale, Manchester Features: Front+Back Dual cover,360 protection. [8], Some gang members told the court the girls were willing participants and happy having sex with the men. The Manchester Evening News reports how the former delivery driver and dad-of-four encouraged his victimsto call him daddy. [2] One gang member convicted of sex trafficking was a religious studies teacher at a mosque and a married father of five. [citation needed], Twelve men were initially charged with sex trafficking and other offences including: rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child. He continued: "GMP could and should have done much more to protect you and we let you down.". They dont give a fuck when youre not from a wealthy background.. 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. When police were called to a report of a 15-year-old girl smashing up the Balti House takeaway in Heywood, they had no idea that the crime they had uncovered would become a national scandal. 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. 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. But the situation changed and she was raped by one of the men. Size 2XL I used to buy end of lines, torn boxes, opened packets etc to sell on markets. Two members of a Rochdale sex grooming gang have lost their long-running appeal against being deported to Pakistan. Not one charged never, why? This vulnerable girl had been failed.. 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. 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. "I know they believed me, they said to me at the end that something should have been done.". 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". Her mother was not allowed to be with her during the interview, and there was no mention of an appropriate adult. I didnt know what that meant. She was held in custody for hours before being released on bail. She was later forced into prostitution and at 13, became pregnant by one of the men, Adil Khan, and had an abortion. One woman said she welcomed "some accountability" but did not believe GMP had "really changed their ways". After the trials conclusion, there were public apologies from the police, the council and prosecutors for failing the victims. The women, who cannot be named for legal reasons, met Chief Constable Stephen Watson to be given the apology for police failings. [32] The inquiry issued its final report in November 2013. The abuse continued for months, until one evening she was arrested by police for smashing the counter at a takeaway where some of the men met the girls. Then, shortly after the ID parade, Oliver was told that they were no longer going to use Ambers evidence. Adil Khan, then 42, and also of Rochdale was convicted of trafficking a child within the UK for sexual exploitation and received eight years. Police seized the foetus as evidence, but she was not notified, nor was her mother or any responsible adult. The alleged offences that took place in Rochdale between 2005 and 2013 included rape, conspiracy to rape, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual activity with a child, and sexual assault. 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. I didnt want other people to feel how I felt. Her courage and Olivers support resulted in a database of abusers whom she identified by names, car registrations, telephone numbers and addresses. Tellingly, he added: I believe that one of the factors that led to that was that they were not of your community or religion. The skinny 15-year-old girl was arrested and taken to the police station but then spent six hours pouring her heart out about precisely why she had acted in such an antisocial manner. On one occasion he ordered a girl aged 15 to have sex with Kabeer Hassan, as a "treat" for his birthday Hassan then raped the girl. We were making referrals from 2004, very explicit referrals, referrals which absolutely highlighted for protective services that young people were incredibly vulnerable, she said. Rochdale grooming case - what really happened? rochdale grooming case details. It was unfortunate that it was about attitudes towards teenagers. Some of the men involved were arrested, tried and found guilty. 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. ", "Police 'sorry' over Rochdale child sex abuse failures", "This is what happened to Three Girls whistleblower Sara Rowbotham", "Nine men found guilty of sexually abusing vulnerable girls in Rochdale", "Senior judge slams lawyers for obstructing Rochdale child sex grooming gang deportation case", "Members of paedophile gang treated victims as 'worthless', "Gang To Be Sentenced Over Child Sex Crimes", "Profiles of Child Sex Abuse Gang Members", "Rochdale Grooming Scandal Whistleblower Defends Sarah Champion And Slams Austerity", "Rochdale child sex grooming case originally dropped", "Nazir Afzal: 'We tackled grooming gangs. BBC Ones new drama Three Girls launched on Tuesday to five million viewers.