Perv ring ‘targeting teens in Glasgow’
A PROBE has been launched into an alleged grooming ring targeting teenagers in Glasgow city centre.
Children as young as 14 are thought to have been targeted near the “four corners” area of the city, at the junction of Argyle Street and Union Street.
Officers are investigating the claims after the family of an apparent victim contacted authorities.
The 17-year-old girl is understood to have been taken to houses for sex with multiple men. She believed the male who took her there was her boyfriend.
He was introduced to the girl when she was 15.
A concerned relative said: “It isn’t just (my relative) who was targeted, other girls were involved too.
“She’s 17 now though and she’s been brainwashed. She thinks this guy is her boyfriend and won’t say what has happened to her.”
The girl is said to have been taken to a house for sex with men along with other teenagers. The relative added: “This really is just our worst nightmare. It’s this Rochdale and Rotherham-type stuff but it’s happening here in Glasgow in a big way.
“Nobody seems to be doing anything to stop it. All the girls have been made to believe these men are their boyfriends.
“It’s white females they are hitting on, aged 14 to 19. I’ve been down to the four corners and watched them chatting up the girls. This needs to stop.”
Police confirmed they had received a report of concern for a 17-year-old girl.
Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership said they wouldn’t comment on an on-going police inquiry.
But a spokesman added: “In general, we are working very closely with partners to address the challenge of child sexual exploitation in Glasgow.”
He said they are “helping to protect those at risk of child sexual exploitation and bring perpetrators to justice”.