‘Sex abusers still at large in town’
AFORMER police detective who helped cage a gang of Rochdale sex groomers in 2012 says offenders identified during the original investigation are still at large and abusing young girls in the town.
Maggie Oliver made the claim ahead of a new TV drama about the scandal - Three Girls - which tells how child abuse victims were dismissed as prostitutes and let down by the authorities.
The former detective constable turned whistleblower persuaded many of the victims to speak to the police but later resigned because of the way they were treated.
She became an outspoken critic of GMP and was recruited by the BBC as the consultant for their drama, which will be told across three hour-long programmes broadcast on successive nights on BBC1 from 9pm tomorrow. Her character is played by actress Lesley Sharpe.
But GMP defended its record saying it has made huge progress in tackling crimes against children.
Nine members of the gang were jailed in 2012 but, writing about her experience for the M.E.N., Oliver said other offenders who were identified as a result of Operation Span remained at large.
The mother-of-four from south Manchester writes: “There are still paedophiles who we identified as part of Span who are out there right now in Rochdale.
“I still support many of the girls and they tell me they’ve seen them. Once a paedophile, always a paedophile, in my book. This is still happening.”
Some 19 men have been jailed for grooming offences since 2012, with the last group sentenced in February.
Asst Chf Const Rob Potts defended GMP’s record on dealing with child sexual exploitation (CSE).
He said: “Tackling the sexual exploitation of children and young people is an absolute priority for GMP and its partners. Protecting children is eve- ryone’s responsibility and it is crucial that we work together to identify and prosecute individuals who prey on vulnerable children. Our specialist teams in each division across Greater Manchester are successfully reaching out to young people. We have specially-trained officers who provide young people with ongoing support, both from within the force and through key partner agencies.
“We have made huge progress in our fight against child sexual exploitation and those who commit these horrendous crimes against children. The It’s Not Okay campaign was launched in September 2014 as part of GM-wide Project Phoenix, giving young people and their carers a crucial online resource.
“The wider campaign provided a completely new approach, using education to prevent young people from becoming victims in the first place but at the same time targeting offenders and bringing them to justice. I want to reassure communities that our priority is to protect children and young people, prosecute offenders and prevent them from committing further offences.”