The mother of a girl who gave evidence in the trial of nine Asian men convicted of child sex offences has shown this newspaper evidence that suggests the authorities were aware of the abuse as long ago as 2002.
An official report by a sexual health adviser, which was passed on to social workers and police in 2005, detailed the kidnap and rape of an underage girl in Rochdale, where the gang was operating, but the authorities failed to act.
They have now been accused of ignoring evidence of the rapes because they were frightened of being accused of racism.
The latest development came as the nine members of the gang were jailed for between four and 19 years as a judge told them they treated their victims as "worthless".
Some of the guilty men had tried to claim the police investigation was triggered by racism, as their victims were white, but Judge Gerald Clifton told them the prosecution was triggered by their "lust and greed".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9254982/Rochdale-grooming-trial-police-knew-about-sex-abuse-in-2002-but-failed-to-act.html
The mother of a victim of an Asian child sex gang has given The Daily Telegraph a copy of an official report that gave social workers and police a harrowing insight into the issue in 2005.
It said to her daughter, Miss F, was "known to be taking drugs and other substances and having sex with Asian men".
The document, written by a sexual health adviser, continues: "(At) 8.30am yesterday three men she did not know took her to a hotel. She presented at the Crisis Intervention Team with love bites and acute abdominal pain.
"She was found accommodation at Night Stop but continued to have abdominal pain and went to A & E. She was escorted away by three Asian men before she was seen. She is now missing.
"(Miss F) is believed to be using substances to the extent that she does not know what she is doing. A couple of days ago, wearing a sari, she was carried across the road by three Asian men.
"She was obviously under the influence of some substance. She has no memory of what happened at the hotel."
Copies of the document were sent to both the social services team at Crossfield Mill, Rochdale, and the town's crisis intervention team, which gives advice to girls on abortions and sexually transmitted diseases.
In the aftermath of Miss F's double rape her mother gave police and social workers the names and nicknames of more than a dozen men who had abused her.
She later discovered her other two daughters had also become prey to the gang and trafficked around the north-west.
She said: "None of them did anything about it. I'm so, so angry. If they'd acted then, I don't think this whole problem would be so bad.
"They could have arrested people then and brought them to court. That could have saved a lot of other girls from being hurt – including my other two daughters".
In the years that followed, Mrs F's two other daughters were recruited by the gangs.
She claims that over the years both police and social services turned a blind eye to the abuse.
"They knew all about my daughters from late 2002, but they just put it down by my girls being really bad kids.
"A police officer did tell me, and a social worker has told me since, that they're frightened to do anything with the Asians because they might be accused of being racist against them."
The mother went on: “(Girl F) knew a couple of the defendants in the trial at Liverpool but I don’t know whether they abused her too.
“I wanted the three of them to be put into child protection but they wouldn’t do it. I must have called in to social services eight or nine times and phoned them lots of times. They also had lots of referrals from people like the health visitors.
“I think it’s disgusting that they didn’t do anything to help the girl who was attacked first in the trial. They failed her like they failed my girls. They’ve just never learned.
“They keep saying they didn’t know much about it in 2008, but that’s a lie. They knew a lot about it. It’s just that they didn’t act on it.
“My girls told me about lots of other girls who were involved. Social services must have been aware. They’ve been aware since it started happening to my girls, and so have the police”.
Meanwhile the gang of nine men who were convicted on Tuesday of offences relating to five girls aged between 13 and 15 were jailed at Liverpool Crown Court.
Judge Gerald Clifton told them: "All of you treated (the victims) as though they were worthless and beyond any respect.
"One of the factors leading to that was the fact that they were not part of your community or religion.
"Some of you, when arrested, said it was triggered by race.
"That is nonsense. What triggered this prosecution was your lust and greed.
"In some cases those girls were raped callously, viciously and violently."
The man regarded as the ringleader, a 59-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for a total of 19 years for conspiracy, two counts of rape, aiding and abetting a rape, sexual assault and a count of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation.
The remaining gang members received sentences of between nine and four years.
Rochdale Borough Council declined to comment on the allegation that social workers had been aware of the activities of Asian grooming gangs for nearly a decade.
Cheryl Eastwood, the authority's executive director for Children, Schools and Families, said: "We, along with other agencies working with the young women involved in the recent court case are now aware, with the benefit of hindsight, recent local learning and national safeguarding initiatives, that we missed some opportunities to offer more support and assistance to them in 2008 and 2009."
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood, who has denied sweeping the issue of Asian sex gangs under the carpet,declined to comment on the Telegraph's revelations.
He would only say: 'There is an ongoing IPCC investigation around the investigation in 2008 and before and it would be inappropriate to comment further."
It said to her daughter, Miss F, was "known to be taking drugs and other substances and having sex with Asian men".
The document, written by a sexual health adviser, continues: "(At) 8.30am yesterday three men she did not know took her to a hotel. She presented at the Crisis Intervention Team with love bites and acute abdominal pain.
"She was found accommodation at Night Stop but continued to have abdominal pain and went to A & E. She was escorted away by three Asian men before she was seen. She is now missing.
"(Miss F) is believed to be using substances to the extent that she does not know what she is doing. A couple of days ago, wearing a sari, she was carried across the road by three Asian men.
"She was obviously under the influence of some substance. She has no memory of what happened at the hotel."
Copies of the document were sent to both the social services team at Crossfield Mill, Rochdale, and the town's crisis intervention team, which gives advice to girls on abortions and sexually transmitted diseases.
In the aftermath of Miss F's double rape her mother gave police and social workers the names and nicknames of more than a dozen men who had abused her.
She later discovered her other two daughters had also become prey to the gang and trafficked around the north-west.
She said: "None of them did anything about it. I'm so, so angry. If they'd acted then, I don't think this whole problem would be so bad.
"They could have arrested people then and brought them to court. That could have saved a lot of other girls from being hurt – including my other two daughters".
In the years that followed, Mrs F's two other daughters were recruited by the gangs.
She claims that over the years both police and social services turned a blind eye to the abuse.
"They knew all about my daughters from late 2002, but they just put it down by my girls being really bad kids.
"A police officer did tell me, and a social worker has told me since, that they're frightened to do anything with the Asians because they might be accused of being racist against them."
The mother went on: “(Girl F) knew a couple of the defendants in the trial at Liverpool but I don’t know whether they abused her too.
“I wanted the three of them to be put into child protection but they wouldn’t do it. I must have called in to social services eight or nine times and phoned them lots of times. They also had lots of referrals from people like the health visitors.
“I think it’s disgusting that they didn’t do anything to help the girl who was attacked first in the trial. They failed her like they failed my girls. They’ve just never learned.
“They keep saying they didn’t know much about it in 2008, but that’s a lie. They knew a lot about it. It’s just that they didn’t act on it.
“My girls told me about lots of other girls who were involved. Social services must have been aware. They’ve been aware since it started happening to my girls, and so have the police”.
Meanwhile the gang of nine men who were convicted on Tuesday of offences relating to five girls aged between 13 and 15 were jailed at Liverpool Crown Court.
Judge Gerald Clifton told them: "All of you treated (the victims) as though they were worthless and beyond any respect.
"One of the factors leading to that was the fact that they were not part of your community or religion.
"Some of you, when arrested, said it was triggered by race.
"That is nonsense. What triggered this prosecution was your lust and greed.
"In some cases those girls were raped callously, viciously and violently."
The man regarded as the ringleader, a 59-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for a total of 19 years for conspiracy, two counts of rape, aiding and abetting a rape, sexual assault and a count of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation.
The remaining gang members received sentences of between nine and four years.
Rochdale Borough Council declined to comment on the allegation that social workers had been aware of the activities of Asian grooming gangs for nearly a decade.
Cheryl Eastwood, the authority's executive director for Children, Schools and Families, said: "We, along with other agencies working with the young women involved in the recent court case are now aware, with the benefit of hindsight, recent local learning and national safeguarding initiatives, that we missed some opportunities to offer more support and assistance to them in 2008 and 2009."
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood, who has denied sweeping the issue of Asian sex gangs under the carpet,declined to comment on the Telegraph's revelations.
He would only say: 'There is an ongoing IPCC investigation around the investigation in 2008 and before and it would be inappropriate to comment further."
