[17] Abdul Aziz, a married father of three, took over from Shabir Ahmed as the main trafficker and was paid by various men to supply underage girls for sex. Last month we met Daisy*, who found herself at the centre of the scandal all those years ago. "It will always be there, but I know how to deal with it," she said. The trial of nine of the grooming gang was pending, and in the meantime, despite never having been informed, arrested or cautioned, Amber was added to the indictment by the CPS as a co-conspirator. 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. After a while, the girl was being driven to different houses or flats where there would be other men waiting. She said that seven officers had been served with misconduct notices, but no further disciplinary action would be taken against them. 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. One of the victims given the fictitious name Amber in Three Girls, the BBC One drama about the abuse was 14 when she was targeted by gang members. Behind the scenes, however, there was consternation. Nine men have been convicted of sexually exploiting young girls in Greater Manchester. Nine men were convicted of being part of the child sexual exploitation ring, Nazir Afzal regrets that the CPS dropped the original grooming case, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists, How 10% of Nigerian registered voters delivered victory, Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales, The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip. Abdul Aziz received a similar sentence: nine years (concurrently) for trafficking for sexual exploitation and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children. Why has nothing happened to these men? "That can't make sense.". The women, who cannot be named for. She's now in her late 20s. [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". [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. 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 absolute disrespect that vulnerable young people did not have a voice. The victims, many of whom were from difficult backgrounds and therefore particularly vulnerable, were plied with drugs, alcohol and fast food, and then taken to chill houses across the north of England to be abused. The investigation into the sexual abuse of the girl had been reopened following the exposure of police failings. Rochdale grooming case - what really happened? But when she was just 12, she was groomed and sexually abused by gangs of adult men. You have only got my kind here. 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. Now they werent prepared to do that. [16], The trial concluded in May 2012 with the nine convictions. Handout pictures released by Greater Manchester police in 2012 show eight of nine men convicted in connection with the child sexual exploitation ring. ", "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. 'We are not going to stop' - Mikel Arteta sends Man City title message after Arsenal win, Manchester City now trail Arsenal by five points in the Premier League table after the Gunners beat Everton 4-0 on Wednesday night, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp learns Real Madrid lesson ahead of Manchester United clash, Liverpool beat Wolves in the Premier League on Wednesday and face Man United this weekend, West Ham manager David Moyes delivers bullish verdict on FA Cup defeat to Manchester United. FA Cup quarter-final draw in full as Manchester United and Man City discover opponents, Four Premier League sides remain in the competition, Manchester United vs West Ham LIVE highlights and reaction from FA Cup as Garnacho scores. 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? "[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. Abdul Aziz, 51, Adil Khan, 51, and Qari Rauf, 52,. After the trials conclusion, there were public apologies from the police, the council and prosecutors for failing the victims. I asked Amber what gave her the strength to give evidence to the police, after what she had gone through. There was a "shocking" inability to protect seven vulnerable girls from sexual exploitation, a report into the Rochdale grooming case has said. "[45], In May 2017, the BBC broadcast Three Girls, a miniseries about the case. [6] Sara Rowbotham, the sexual health worker who first recognised patterns of child abuse in the community and fought to bring these crimes to police attention, was made redundant in 2014. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. "Why have I still got a criminal record? Two members of the grooming gang the gangs ringleader Shabir Ahmed and Kabeer Hassan were arrested and released on bail. Police said the victims were from chaotic, council estate backgrounds and as many as 50 girls could have been victims of the gang. The grooming case seemed ripe for exploitation: all the girls were white, all the accused were Asian Muslim men, and they had displayed a searing contempt for their victims. "It's not a normal relationship when your boyfriend is getting you to sleep with all his friends for money.". Amber was also threatened at gunpoint by a man whom she subsequently identified to the police. "[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. I shouldve been helped, not punished.. [2] One 13-year-old victim had an abortion after becoming pregnant. The government would not comment on the Rochdale case but said it had deported more than 51,000 foreign national offenders since 2010. had learned about the investigation but after approaching GMP we were told to hold off until the victims had been spoken to. The report added that professionals repeatedly said the victims had it 'in their power' to stop the abuse 'suggesting this was something they could choose not to do'. Police began to investigate child grooming in Rochdale almost by accident. Some studies suggest an overrepresentation of black and Asian offenders relative to the demographics of national populations. Man United beat West Ham United 3-1 in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening. 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. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Fungus case forces Jack Daniels to halt construction, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms. 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. 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. "At first I thought it was great because nothing sexual had happened, I thought I could just get all of this stuff for free.". 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. Man United beat West Ham United in the FA Cup fifth round and here are how the players rated at Old Trafford. It formed a large part of the police investigation that became known as Operation Span. [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. But after a while it had been going on for so long and with so many different men, I didn't feel anything towards it anymore. [19] [53], On 13 March 2015, Greater Manchester Police apologised for its failure to investigate child sexual exploitation allegations more thoroughly between 2008 and 2010. Research has found that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white. 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. 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. "[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. [21], Following the break up of the first sex ring in May 2012, the police made arrests in relation to another child sexual exploitation ring in Rochdale. Not one charged never, why? It resulted in the conviction of nine men for offences including rape and human. "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. When police arrived, she says they did not believe her version of events. 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. Full-Time. 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. "Even though I was kicking and screaming in the back [of the police van] saying 'he's hit me or he's raped me', I was always the one that got arrested. 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