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Mohammed Amin received a five-year sentence for sexual assault and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children. Nothing happened. I'm only a kid - why is it always me? ", 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. 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. The men, she said, were friendly at first, simply chatting with the girls now and again in a takeaway shop. 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". "[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. NINE men who ran the Rochdale child sex abuse ring were eventually jailed for a string of offences in 2012. Without Ambers initial evidence there might never have been a trial at all. She told me: So it didnt happen to anybody else. Nine men were found guilty and sentenced to a total of 77 years in prison. 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. [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. Although police interviewed a total of 56 men on suspicion of abuse, only a handful were tried. 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. This kind of institutional neglect of a whole sector of society must never happen again and we need programmes like Three Girls to remind us.. The trial at Liverpool Crown Court in 2012 heard five girls - aged between 13 and 15 - were given alcohol, food and money in return for sex but there were times when violence was used. Updated 10:45, 3 JUL 2017. "She yearns to put her awful experiences to some value. 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Last May. "[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. Her act of pent-up frustration in the takeaway - followed by her bravery in speaking out - was the first step, a key moment that would lead to questions about the part which racial identity played in sexual grooming of children in the town and in other places up and down the country. "It's not an excuse that's the reality of where we are. 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On one of those interviews a police officer can be heard yawning while repeatedly asking why she had put herself in such a vulnerable position. There were therefore many still walking free that had evaded detection. [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. Her mother was not allowed to be with her during the interview, and there was no mention of an appropriate adult. Why's nothing happened to the police? Girls aged between 13 and 15 were trafficked, prostituted, raped and assaulted by the gang. The period during the buildup to the trial of the men accused of being part of the grooming gang, was dark for Amber. "Lessons must be learnt from this report and measures implemented to ensure no other vulnerable children are treated as at fault. "We would get free alcohol and cigarettes, food, free taxis," she said. [8] The victims, plied with drugs and alcohol, were passed around friends and family,[18] and taken to various locations in the north of England, including Rochdale, Oldham, Nelson, Bradford and Leeds. 2023 BBC. But in court, she was portrayed by the prosecution and defence as an assistant pimp. He said the actions of criminals who thought "white teenage girls are worthless and can be abused" were "bringing shame on our community. Why has nothing happened to these men? The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Speaking to BBC Five Live, Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester, denied his officers had failed to investigate allegations of rape made by underage girls before a decision was taken not to prosecute in 2008. Career Track: Leadership. Why can't I get a job? A chance to stop the gang was missed in 2008 and both the police and the CPS were forced to apologise for their failings. Finally, she has been exonerated. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. 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. Writing for HuffPost UK, chief executive Javed Khan of childrens charity Barnardos described Three Girls as absolutely vital viewing.. The uncomfortable truth would eventually come out despite the botched original police investigation which concluded the girl, who would later become the prosecutions star witness, was not credible. Shabir Ahmed, who abused dozens of vulnerable teenagers, was known as "Dadd Critics say the delays meant more girls were left to be abused while the criminal justice system slowly changed its course. One of their victims tells her story. "The report paints a shocking picture of the inability of these agencies to protect these young people successfully," said Jane Booth, chair of the safeguarding board. 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. 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. She had a knack of speaking on a human level to estate kids and she was head-hunted by her bosses to persuade them to give evidence in the trial despite the woeful original investigation. The women, who cannot be named for. Sir Peter Fahy said some girls 'don't want to make a complaint because that means they go into the criminal justice system'. Why the Rochdale 'grooming trial' wasn't about race Focusing on the ethnicity of the men convicted of child sex offences in Rochdale detracts from the real issue: this was ultimately about. "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. [1][8] Most of the men were married and well-respected within their community. In some cases those girls were raped, callously, viciously and violently. He said that of convictions involving child sexual exploitation, 87% were of British Pakistani men and it was a significant problem for that community. Handout pictures released by Greater Manchester police in 2012 show eight of nine men convicted in connection with the child sexual exploitation ring. In May 2012, nine men from Rochdale were convicted and jailed for grooming girls with alcohol, drugs and gifts before forcing them to have sex with multiple men. The picture which emerged was one of vulnerable young girls, some as young as 10, who were being targeted for sexual abuse and written off by authorities who believed the girls were making their own choices. "Our understanding [of these crimes] at the time wasn't as developed and our practice wasn't as improved as it is today. "He then was saying all the things he had bought for me, and he wanted something back for it. It was then she told police for the first time what was going on. After a while, the girl was being driven to different houses or flats where there would be other men waiting. Cockbain and Brayley expressed concern that "findings were being overextended from a small, geographically concentrated sample to characterise an entire crime type". News. Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood said that about 550 officers were working on Operation Doublet in May 2013. They ripped away all my dignity". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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. Updated 10:47, 10 JUN 2020. The Rochdale child sex abuse ring involved underage teenage girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. In a disused hotel ballroom just off the M60 in Greater Manchester, she describes to us how the authorities knew she was at risk, but failed to stop the abuse. Marks and Spencer is rolling out the same change in all stores from April following huge investment, Every single M&s store is affected, and shoppers will agree it's a step in the right direction, Billie Faiers fumes at Phillip Schofield after being 'irritated' over her This Morning 'appearance', The former The Only Way is Essex star has spoken out on her podcast which she hosts with sister Samantha, Police say 'remains' have been found in search for baby of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon - latest updates, Marten was Gordon have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as the desperate hunt continues, Tragedy as remains of baby uncovered after pair lead police on 53-day manhunt that all started with car fire, Police said they found the remains of a baby in woodland close to where Constance Marten and Mark Gordon were arrested, B&M is closing some stores from March - full list of shops affected, The first B&M store will close on Saturday March 4, with more to follow over the next few weeks, Police issue appeal to trace missing girl from Stockport. 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