Be careful: Chilling threat to father of murdered abuse girl
THE father of a murdered teenager now linked to a child grooming epidemic told of his fears last night after police received a threat to his safety.
Lucy Lowe was 16 and pregnant with her second child when she was murdered alongside her sister Sarah, 17, and their mother Eileen, 49, in a house fire set by Lucy’s 26-year-old boyfriend, Azhar Ali Mehmood.
The taxi driver was later jailed for life after being convicted of three counts of murder – but was never arrested or charged over sex abuse.
The couple’s 15-month-old daughter was found wrapped in a blanket in the back garden – after being moved to safety before the fire was lit.
A Sunday newspaper claimed this weekend that Lucy could be one of up to 1,000 victims of grooming or childhood sexual abuse in the Shropshire town of Telford over four decades.
Telford has the third highest number of child sexual offences recorded in the UK, just behind Blackpool and Rotherham, according to the Home Office.
Last night, as there were calls from the charity Barnado’s for an independent inquiry into the growing scandal, Lucy’s Lowe’s father George said he was fearful of reprisals for speaking out about his fears his daughter was groomed.
Mr Lowe said that police had received a call from an untraceable pay-as-you-go handset last week warning that the bereaved father, now aged 73, needed to ‘be careful’.
It comes almost 18 years after his family was wiped out in the fire. Mehmood was jailed for life with a minimum 18-year tariff. Mr Lowe, who lives just outside Telford, said: ‘A police officer visited me and said they would be implementing security measures at my home as a result of this phone call. They are not discounting the possibility of another arson attack.’
Mr Lowe and his sister, Edna Jackson, said Lucy became ‘unruly’ after meeting Mehmood, often truanting from school –
‘Wasn’t able to ask for help’
where the family were later told taxis would pick up pupils.
Mr Lowe added: ‘I tried to get her to school but I couldn’t drag her there.’ He said he should have put a stop to his daughter’s relationship with the older man, who claimed he was four years younger than his true age.
Mrs Jackson, 72, said: ‘Now we all know a lot more about grooming and the effects such abuse can have on the victims.
‘I can’t bear to think Lucy wasn’t able to ask for help.’
Another local potential grooming victim was named as Rebecca Watson, who died aged 13 after falling from a car bonnet in March 2002. Her mother, Torron, told the Sunday Mirror her daughter had been abused since the age of 11.
Barnardo’s chief executive, Javed Khan, said: ‘Barnardo’s would support a public inquiry to understand what went wrong so mistakes are never made again.’
West Mercia Police said it was unable to comment on any ‘operational decisions’ that may have been taken by its officers in relation to Mr Lowe.
Clive Jones, director of children and adult services at Telford and Wrekin Council, said he was not aware of any murders associated with child abuse in Telford.
Scandal of town’s 1000 abuse victims Call for probe as girls as young as 11 raped by gangs MPS demanded inquiry last a night fullscale By Jemma Buckley which young has as allegedly 11 lured seen away girls from as – Operation Chalice – was closed From yesterday’s after seven Asian Mail men were jailed in