It was only when she met Oliver in early 2012 that things started to change. And Ive done nothing wrong I was a victim of these men at the age of 14. There was a complete lack of appreciation of the world in which some of the girls lived - when in fact that should have framed every conversation . 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. 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. They contend that clouding the issue by calling them "Asians" is unfair towards other groups and detrimental to a frank discussion. "But people can feel some sense of reassurance that we are now bringing more cases to court.". 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 men, she said, were friendly at first, simply chatting with the girls now and again in a takeaway shop. File on 4 - Groomed, abused and put in prison: Rochdale's untold story will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 14 July at 20:00 BST and repeated on Sunday 19 July at 17:00 BST. The women, who cannot be named for. 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. 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I trusted police that I would be helped this time. 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. One victim, a 15-year-old known as the Honey Monster, acted as a recruiter, procuring girls as young as 13 for the gang. Finally, after a gruelling 18 months and several hearings, the judge threw the case out. She says they got into a fight and he hit her in the face. These involved the grooming and sexual exploitation of several girls, aged in their early teens. [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. The investigation into the sexual abuse of the girl had been reopened following the exposure of police failings. "[3], Sayeeda Warsi, co-chairperson of the Conservative Party, in an interview with the Evening Standard, said "You can only start solving a problem if you acknowledge it first," and added, "This small minority who see women as second class citizens, and white women probably as third class citizens, are to be spoken out against." Social services became involved when she started to arrive at school dirty and sometimes smelling of alcohol. 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. Finally, she has been exonerated. She told me: It wasnt like a forced thing. We need to remember and learn from the mistakes of the past to ensure they are not repeated. That night it was Daisy who was arrested - and later convicted - of a public order offence. Rochdale grooming gang members could be deported to Pakistan; . Nine men were convicted, of whom eight were of British Pakistani origin and one was an Afghan asylum-seeker. The men who abused her have never been prosecuted. You have only got my kind here. Operation Span was the investigation launched in December 2009 into allegations made against the individuals who were convicted in 2012, and others. 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. Amber was also threatened at gunpoint by a man whom she subsequently identified to the police. Because she was not involved in the trial, and therefore did not give evidence, she had no opportunity to defend herself. On 9 May 2012, the Rochdale grooming trial reached its conclusion. Amber still sees those whom she says raped, beat and tortured her, out and about in Rochdale. 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. 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. Ive got a box in the back of my head, and I just put it all in there and its locked away.. 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. 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. 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". 2023 BBC. Charity Victim Support's chief executive Javed Khan said: "It is utterly unacceptable that, instead of protecting these vulnerable young victims from sexual exploitation, the authorities judged, blamed and disbelieved them and their families and, in doing so, exposed these victims to further abuse. Research has found that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white. It was like a casual, Oh, bring your friends. She was a vulnerable child, being sexually abused, controlled and in fear. The gang of nine men received jail sentences of between four and 19 years from a judge who said they treated their victims as though they were worthless and beyond any respect. Address: CA Torrance 4101 Torrance Blvd. 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. [19] Under the direct supervision of the Registered Nurse the GI Technician provides care to all patients, including pediatrics, adults and geriatrics by assisting the team during GI procedures. 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. 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. 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. 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 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." 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. 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. 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. There was a "shocking" inability to protect seven vulnerable girls from sexual exploitation, a report into the Rochdale grooming case has said. 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. Although police interviewed a total of 56 men on suspicion of abuse, only a handful were tried. [31], In late 2011, the Office of the Children's Commissioner began a two-year long inquiry into child sexual exploitation by street gangs. Five of the girls had "clearly" needed help and intervention by safeguarding agencies before the abuse began, the report said. 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). It was unfortunate that it was about attitudes towards teenagers. Men alleged to be part of a child-grooming ring in Rochdale were never brought to justice because the evidence of teenage victims was not pursued, according a former police officer. [17], Victims were physically assaulted and raped by as many as five men at a time,[1] or obliged to have sex with "several men in a day, several times a week". Indeed one witness, said in the course of the trial that he did not wish to be seen with young white girls in his community in Oldham.. 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. Copley said: "We apologise to the victims and we give them our assurance that lessons have been learned, changes have been made and we are determined to use this to continue making improvements. She later went on to positively identify a number of offenders, which enabled charges to be brought against them all. 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