40 young girls lured to ‘sex party set up by grooming gang’
A PARTY attended by 40 underage girls was broken up by police who feared the youngsters had been lured by a gang to be sexually abused.
Officers swooped on the house party – which had been organised using Facebook – at the eleventh hour after learning it had been set up in order to exploit children.
Staffordshire Police found 40 girls aged just 14 and 15 at the event this month but have refused to confirm whether any arrests were made.
The ‘majority of the people’ who turned up at the party did not actually enter the house in Bucknall, Stoke-on-Trent, police said.
Jane Sawyers, Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police, said while not all 40 girls there had been targeted for abuse, ‘the purpose of arranging the party was so that some children could be exploited’.
Police said they had been made aware that ‘some sexual activity’ had taken place at other parties in the area after youngsters talked with their parents, teachers and care workers.
Details of how officers broke up the party emerged in the force’s response to a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) into its effectiveness.
Pointing to how the force investigates ‘new types of crime’, Chief Constable Sawyers said: ‘An operation stopped groups who were organising parties through social media to attract young females in North Staffordshire with the intention to carry out child sexual exploitation.’ A spokesman for the force added: ‘The operation looked at the way that social media was being used to advertise house parties across Stoke-on-Trent.
‘The police had been made aware of reports, through disclosures to teachers, care workers and occasionally parents that some sexual activity had taken place at some parties within the city.
‘The response by the police and partners has been to look to identify when and where such parties are taking place with a view to ensuring they are being properly managed and young people attending them are safe. On the occasions where we felt it appropriate to disrupt or prevent parties from taking place, we have done so.’
Previously parties that have been widely publicised on Facebook have infamously seen dozens of teenagers gather at private events which can escalate wildly out of control – now their use as cover for potential sexual exploitation en-masse could prove to be a further nightmare scenario for parents.
Matthew Ellis, the police and crime commissioner for Staffordshire, said the case underlined the need for youngsters’ activi- ties online to be monitored. He said: ‘I’d urge all parents to take simple steps to improve their children’s online safety. This is crucial to reducing the risk of sexual exploitation.’
A spokesman for Stoke- onTrent City Council said: ‘We take our responsibility to tackle child sexual exploitation very seriously, and work in partnership with the police and other responsible agencies.
‘We will not tolerate the sexual abuse of children and are committed to supporting vulnerable children, and in this case, a range of support work is under way.’