Pillar of community’ ran rape house
POLICE failed to put more than 20 suspected Telford paedophiles on the sex offender register because it was “too much trouble”.
Horrified whistleblowers who made the shocking claim believe more victims could have been saved.
Up to 1,000 children, including girls as young as 11, were targeted by sex gangs for an incredible 40 years.
Three people were murdered and two others died in tragedies linked to the scandal. Girls from the Shropshire town have been lured from their families to be drugged, beaten and raped in an epidemic that, say victims, is still going on.
Among the victims was 13- year- old Becky Watson, who died in a car accident that was reported at the time as a “prank”.
An investigation found she suffered two years of abuse by an Asian grooming gang fending rate. The question was, should the CPS was treating the cases as separate which began when she was only 11. we apply for 20 or 25 of these Risk of when we knew they were linked.
Her mum Torron Watson said she Sexual Harm Orders to give police some “If we could have got together four or repeatedly told cops Becky was being control over them? five of the girls with the strongest cases abused – and even gave them a list of “The view from the senior officer was and asked them to identify the worst suspects. Operation Chalice probing that it was too much trouble. A lot of us offenders I believe more men could have decades of abuse ended in 2012 with only were horrified when they ey didn’t ended up in jail.” seven convictions. Yet police estimate want to do that. But West Mercia Chief more than 200 paedophiles were operating “It’d have been a lot of Constable Con Martin Evans said
ths o tbetween 2007 and 2009 alone. work for the legal departthe risk orders had not been
The West Mercia insiders said plans to ment but what price do sought for a number of obtain Risk of Sexual Harm Orders we put on protecting reasons, not to avoid work. against suspected child sex abusers identithese kids. Ask them He said: “There would fied in Chalice were inexplicably scrapped. how many Risk of have been a requirement
An ex- detective who worked on Sexual Harm Orders f for victims to give evidence Operation Chalice said: “Lots of people resulted from Chalice? I in court, furthering their were suspected of abuse but not put would suspect none.” o ordeal. There was no before the courts. A second police source urce evi evidence of the individuals
“Two senior officers had a conversation said: “It was discussed at a senior re-offen re-offending during the course of about going for Risk of Sexual Harm level with lawyers and the CPS. We were the Operation Chalice. Orders. It’d have put somebody, without anticipating a number of people would “Other measures were put in place to convicting them, on a sexual offenders go on those orders and would be make sure that those considered a threat register which meant they would be monimonitored. It didn’t take place.” as a result of Operation Chalice tored by the police. A former West Mercia officer said: investigations were closely monitored.”
“It can be effective with a low re-of- “Officers involved were frustrated because A GRANDFATHER is today exposed as a ringleader of the Telford sex abuse scandal.
Shahzad “Keith” Khan made £2,000 a night selling a girl for sex.
Police were tipped off in 1996 but he got away with running his “rape house” for years – and even picked up one sex slave outside a police station. Khan’s son and nephew, who regularly stayed at the monster’s terrace house, have since been jailed for sex crimes.
Brazen Khan operated under the noses of authorities and was a regular feature in his local paper as a pillar of the community.
But previously unseen documents show he was reported to police in the mid-1990s by a female neighbour who feared he was selling young girls for sex.
The neighbour said: “I told an officer what Khan was doing. I even told them he’d offered my brother sex with an underage girl.
“They told me they couldn’t prosecute him as they’d never have enough evidence. I got the feeling they were brushing me off.”
Khan was later reported to police by a child sex victim whose case files we have seen.
According to police statements and victims’ testimony, Khan took the virginity of one girl of 14 then made up to £2,000 a night selling her for sex with scores of men.
Khan, who died in 2015 aged 61 without facing justice, targeted girls as early as 1981 after moving here from Pakistan.