Warning to police officer

However, the panel found that misconduct was not proven against the inspector or the sergeant, and the two did not receive warnings.

IPCC Commissioner Derrick Campbell said: “I would like to express my sympathies for the survivor and their family for what is a very sad and disturbing case. I sincerely hope that West Yorkshire Police has truly learned lessons from this and will put measures in place to make sure these mistakes are not repeated in the future.”

Two officers, who were found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct, could not be subject to misconduct proceedings, as they had retired before the conclusion of the IPCC investigation. A further two officers were subject to management action as a result of their roles in the police investigation.

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said that the force takes allegations of abuse extremely seriously and are actively campaigning to raise awareness of the issue.

The spokesperson said: “Since this time our approach to child sexual exploitation has significantly changed – it is a top priority for West Yorkshire Police. We have built strong partnerships and developed better working practices to ensure victims are properly supported and crimes thoroughly investigated to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.

“The signs of child sexual exploitation are now identified and acted on at an early stage, and measures are put in place to protect victims and potential victims of this abhorrent crime.

“This improved understanding has also led to a number of cases across West Yorkshire, where perpetrators have been given lengthy jail sentences for sexual offences, some committed decades ago.”

A 2016 HMIC assessment into WYP’s safeguarding of young people was rated as “good” and recognised the force’s change in response to allegations of abuse.