Horrifying scandal unfolded over 40 years
Our shock findings force police to go after the abusers
Until now, the abuse victims had been understood to be almost entirely white girls preyed on by Asian gangs.
But we have spoken to a number from both Indian and Pakistani backgrounds who were also targeted.
Some said they still cannot bring themselves to talk to police because they fear judgment and retribution.
One, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants, told us: “The first time I was raped, I was only 11. I didn’t even know what sex was.
“I went from being an angel child to staying in bed, wanting to die.
“I’ve still never told my family. If I did, my dad wouldn’t be able to show his face in the mosque.
“It doesn’t just happen to white girls, it happens to us too.”
Child abuse campaigners fear the horror is being exploited by far-right groups for their own ends.
A string of extremist marches have been held in the town since our 18-month probe exposed the scandal.
Holly Archer, who led a campaign for a public inquiry, said: “We’re sick of our ordeals being exploited by farright groups who don’t care about us, but about their own racist agenda.
“I’ve spoken to several girls from Asian communities who have felt
Predatory abusers start to target vulnerable girls in Telford, picking them up on the streets and outside a children’s home. One girl falls pregnant after being abused and passed around several men, but when she tells her doctor of the abuse he dismisses her as mentally ill.
A concerned resident tells police about ringleader Shahzad “Keith” Khan, whom she suspects of abusing and selling Telford teenagers. She says her claims were not followed up.
Social workers become aware of the abuse, but a council-commissioned report later claims they failed to act because they did not understand the problem.
Lucy Lowe, 16, is killed in a house fire set by cabbie Azhar Ali Mehmood, now 44, who made her pregnant at just 14. Lucy’s mum and sister also die. Mehmood was later jailed for life for the murders. Another schoolgirl tells murder cops that Mehmood
unable to come forward. Children from all backgrounds can be sexually exploited, but those from ethnic minorities are far less likely to tell anyone. It’s time to stand together and show they will be supported.”
Ansar Ali, of Together Against Grooming, has said there could be scores more victims. His campaign POLICE have launched a new probe into child sexual exploitation in Telford as a result of the Sunday Mirror’s expose.
Sources in the West Mercia force have confirmed a fresh operation will focus on “non recent” cases of abuse in the Shropshire town.
More than a dozen brave women groomed her too, but no abuse probe is launched.
Becky Watson, 13, dies in a car accident described as “a prank”. Tragic diaries reveal Becky had endured two years of rape hell prior to her death.
Becky’s friend Vicky Round dies, aged 20, in a drugs incident. Her family say grooming gangs got her hooked on crack at 12 and heroin at 14.
The police’s Operation Chalice, which identified 200 men suspected of raping young Telford girls, produces just eight convictions.
The Sunday Mirror reports that the exploitation problem is continuing outside underage discos in the town, and that cops have failed to log abuse reports from concerned street pastors.
Telford’s Tory MP Lucy Allan group works with Asian communities across Britain to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation.
He said: “It’s no surprise to hear there are Asian victims in Telford.
“Research has shown that only around a third of victims will be represented by official figures. But women from Asian communities are far less came forward to tell cops about their own abuse ordeals the week after we published the shock findings of our 18-month investigation.
It forced the local authority to order a public inquiry into a repeated failure by the authorities to stamp out networks of abusers who have preyed on young asks PM Theresa May to launch an independent inquiry into abuse in Telford. Ten police and council officials tell the Home Office a probe is not needed. The Sunday Mirror publishes the results of its 18-month investigation into child sexual exploitation in Telford, which links five deaths to the abuse and reveals there could be up to 1,000 victims over four decades. Our story prompts more than a dozen girls to go to police. Telford councillors vote unanimously to commission an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation following our revelations. Telford and Wrekin Council invites independent bodies to apply to commission a chair for the inquiry, expected to start in the autumn.
likely to come forward.” Ansar added: “There are undoubtedly a disproportionate number of Pakistani men involved, but they have no loyalty to any one community.”
Two Asian girls have told us they were targeted by street grooming gangs, and raped by multiple men throughout their teenage years. One girls for four decades. The new police investigation has been launched to bring the perpetrators to justice.
This newspaper first asked for a probe in 2016. Then 10 police and council officials wrote to the home office to say it wasn’t necessary.
But in a major U-turn Labourrun
fled Telford in terror after years of hell at the hands of serial predators.
But while some of her attackers were reported to West Mercia Police as part of its 2012 Operation Chalice, which saw eight men jailed, she said some of the worst still walk free.
The woman, 13 when her abuse began, told us: “The police don’t know Telford and Wrekin Council agreed in April to the inquiry.
Independent groups have now been invited to bid for a contract to appoint a chair and set the terms of reference for the inquiry, which is expected to begin its work later this year.