had learned about the investigation but after approaching GMP we were told to hold off until the victims had been spoken to. A serious case review by the Rochdale. Then, shortly after the ID parade, Oliver was told that they were no longer going to use Ambers evidence. I gave hours of interviews, reliving all the abuse. She walked out, refusing to go along with this decision, and was forbidden from speaking to Amber. I didnt know what that meant. She was held in custody for hours before being released on bail. While this is true, Amber believes that she was used as a scapegoat. Nine men have each been sentenced to up to 25 years in jail for a catalogue of serious sexual offences against teenage girls in Rochdale, exposed following widespread media coverage of grooming. NINE men who ran the Rochdale child sex abuse ring were eventually jailed for a string of offences in 2012. [9] The men were aged between 24-59 and all knew each other. The abuse then continued, with a number of men who she had not seen before joining in. [1][2], The oldest person to be convicted, Shabir Ahmed,[16] was for a while the main trafficker of the victims. Police said the victims were from chaotic, council estate backgrounds and as many as 50 girls could have been victims of the gang. She's now in her late 20s. Greater Manchester Police has been accused of 'blanking' three Rochdale grooming victims who have been trying to progress legal action against the force for over 18 months. The abuse took place in Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, in the early 2000s. [7] A former Detective Constable who was investigating the grooming gangs, Margaret Oliver, resigned in 2012 in disgust of the handling of the cases by the police force and spoke out as a whistleblower to inform the public. And Ive done nothing wrong I was a victim of these men at the age of 14. [2] One 13-year-old victim had an abortion after becoming pregnant. She told me: It wasnt like a forced thing. It resulted in the conviction of nine men for offences including rape and human. Rochdale grooming case: what really happened? It meant she was regarded by the prosecution as a member of the grooming gang whose members would go in the dock, even though she was not charged and would not stand beside them in court. We were making referrals from 2004, very explicit referrals, referrals which absolutely highlighted for protective services that young people were incredibly vulnerable, she said. BBC Ones new drama Three Girls launched on Tuesday to five million viewers. "[37][38] Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, accused elders of the Pakistani community of "burying their heads in the sand" on the matter of sexual grooming. [32], Hilary Willmer, representing a Leeds-based support group for parents of sexually exploited girls, the Coalition for the Removal of Pimping (Crop), was quoted as saying "The vast majority [of] perpetrators are Pakistani Asians",[35] with sources inside Crop claiming a percentage as high as 80 per cent although, The Independent said that "Kurdish, Romanian and Albanian gangs were also involved". Police failed to tell council about arrest of Rochdale grooming gang leader who was employed as welfare rights officer Casework by police and social care was "very poor" in 10 sample cases You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Speaking at the conclusion of a 10-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court, the woman, who cannot be identified, said she was forced to have sex with up to five different men in a day, at least four times a week. It was then she told police for the first time what was going on. At best this was distracting for leaders and influenced the areas that resources were focused on". 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. I push thoughts about the abuse out of my head. Read about our approach to external linking. Read about our approach to external linking. Amber had, under pressure from the abusers, taken some of her friends to the takeaway where the ringleaders operated from. Nine men from Rochdale and Oldham were sentenced for up to 19 years in prison in May 2012 after being convicted of offences including rape. The women, who cannot be named for. ", Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children Board, Wigan driver waits to find out if he will be spared a road ban after driving at almost 100mph on the motorway, Police issue appeal to trace missing girl from Stockport, Urgent police appeal to locate missing teenage girl not seen for over 24 hours, Constance Marten's baby found in Brighton woodland Met Police say, Bolton Wanderers player Kyle Dempsey faces possible jail term - court, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon: Body found in search for missing baby, Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Speaking before the airing of a new BBC1 drama, Three Girls - which tells the story of three victims in the 2012 Rochdale sex grooming case - Margaret Oliver said police had still not learned. Attempts by Rochdale Crisis Intervention Team co-ordinator for the NHS, Sara Rowbotham, to alert police and authorities to "patterns of sexual abuse" were ignored. An independent report commissioned by Rochdale council said three employees had spoken of victims making life choices rather than being rape victims. "At first I felt really bad, dirty and ashamed. [2], The victims, vulnerable teenagers from deprived, dysfunctional backgrounds, were targeted in "honeypot locations" where young people congregated, such as takeaway food shops. He said there was no doubt she was a victim of horrendous abuse and exploitation and he accepted that the police response "could and should have been better". Kabeer Hassan was sentenced to nine years for rape and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children. Another night - this time in 2007 - Daisy says she was burnt with a heated metal spoon as punishment for refusing to have sex with a man at a house party. They werent bothered when youre from a shit home. Instead of being seen as a victim, Daisy was arrested and prosecuted for offences - many directly linked to the abuse she was suffering. At the time, she was living with an older victim but when she became pregnant by one of the men, she moved back in with her parents. The abuse of minor female children that occurred in 2008 and 2009 centred around two takeaways in Heywood near Rochdale. Parents felt agencies "failed to work together", did not listen or keep them informed. She later went on to positively identify a number of offenders, which enabled charges to be brought against them all. [1] The abusers paid small sums of money for the encounters. These involved the grooming and sexual exploitation of several girls, aged in their early teens. Last month we met Daisy*, who found herself at the centre of the scandal all those years ago. 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. 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. "I've had a lot of problems in the past, suicide attempts and drinking, but now I know something is being done to prevent it happening again. "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. 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. 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. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. "That can't make sense.". A senior police officer has joined calls for a review on criminal records of child exploitation victims. I shouldve been helped, not punished.. Read about our approach to external linking. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. They contend that clouding the issue by calling them "Asians" is unfair towards other groups and detrimental to a frank discussion. 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. Nine men have been convicted of sexually exploiting young girls in Greater Manchester. Pay Range: $54.58 - $88.09. At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. 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. 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. A victim of Rochdale grooming gangs has told the BBC that convictions she received as a teenager - for offences linked to the abuse she was suffering - have destroyed her hopes of a career. The investigation into the sexual abuse of the girl had been reopened following the exposure of police failings. "What they did to me was evil, they ripped away my dignity, my self-esteem," she said. "[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. The man she accused of assaulting her walked free. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Because she was not involved in the trial, and therefore did not give evidence, she had no opportunity to defend herself. It was only when she met Oliver in early 2012 that things started to change. "[54], One of the seven officers retired without any sanctions being taken, even though his misconduct was found to have warranted disciplinary action. 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. 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. By then police were investigating allegations from another girl about on-street grooming in Heywood. Now they werent prepared to do that. 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. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) - Failure to recognise child sexual exploitation in the early stages, Rochdale Social Services - Lack of organisational priority over child sexual exploitation, an unstable duty and assessment team and a "chaotic" duty system, Health services - GPs had explicit information that some of the girls were at risk "that could have helped them identify the possibility of sexual exploitation at earlier points", Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) - Recognition of child sexual exploitation in the early years "was very poor", resulting in missed prosecution opportunities in 2008. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. The recent BBC One drama Three Girls explored the harrowing true story of the Rochdale child grooming case. To keep up with Rochdale news sign up to the MyRochdale newsletter here. A victim of Rochdale grooming gangs has told the BBC that convictions she received as a teenager - for offences linked to the abuse she was suffering - have destroyed her hopes of a career. The first victim, who was 15 when the abuse began, told the police what had been happening to her in August 2008. Numerous opportunities to intervene were missed and only two girls received child protection planning, the report said. History was repeating itself, said Maggie. The investigation slowly built a compelling case, away from the public gaze. He said: "It creates a culture of hopelessness, where the police officers think 'what's the point? In some cases those girls were raped, callously, viciously and violently. Writing for HuffPost UK, chief executive Javed Khan of childrens charity Barnardos described Three Girls as absolutely vital viewing.. Identify a number of men who she had no opportunity to defend.! 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