ABUSE VICTIM I was raped by hundreds of men from the age of 12 .. but police threatened to arrest ME
THE star witness against a child sex ring which targeted hundreds of girls is suing the authorities for failing to keep her safe.
The victim, codenamed Girl One, was raped by hundreds of men after two brothers targeted her at the age of 12 and hired her out to perverts nationwide.
She is taking legal action against police and council officials after suffering horrific abuse for three years – and being threatened with arrest herself.
It comes five years after a Serious Case Review found a string of blunders and warned of a potential 373 victims.
And it is seven years since seven men at the heart of the Oxford paedophile ring were jailed for a total of 95 years.
While a further 14 men have also been jailed, no one in authority has ever carried the can for a litany of failings.
Council chief executive Joanna Simons resisted calls to resign – saying the issue was complicated and she wanted to stay on to help tackle it. She later received a £259,000 payoff in a reshuffle.
Ex-Thames Valley Police chief Sara Thornton – who apologised to victims – was made a dame last year and has a role as a government anti-slavery tsar.
DROPPED
Speaking for the first time, Girl One tells the Sunday Mirror she:
Was found by police at abusers’ flats at least 10 times – but claims it was her they threatened to arrest.
Met social workers every week but says they dismissed her claims as lies.
Testified in 2013 trial but claims police “dropped her like a stone” after the case.
Has fled her home town after threats from pals of key perpetrators.
Girl One – a model student who dreamed of being a doctor – was in her school uniform when first targeted by Akhtar Dogar, now 39, and his 38-yearold brother Anjam.
She said: “They had designer clothes, a BMW and plenty of money. When you are 12 that’s cool. They asked for my number. They gave me fags and perfume, little things to make me think they cared about me. It was grooming.”
The Dogars and their cronies began forcing her to have sex with men at grim parties. She said: “I couldn’t possibly count how many men abused me – hundreds and hundreds. They came from all over the country and the brothers were making money off them.
“So many things are blocked because your brain doesn’t want you to remember. I get flashbacks, photos in front of my eyes, but sometimes I get the order of things wrong.
“Sometimes, I was trafficked to other parts of the country. I once had a panic attack when I saw a sign for Oswestry because I knew I’d been taken there.
“They said they’d burn my house down with my family inside if I didn’t do as I was told. They drove me up to the woods one time and forced me to have oral sex with horrible men before threatening to kill me. Then they left me there. Yet I had so little trust in everyone else that it was them I phoned to come and get me.”
Engulfed by torment, Girl One was taken into care but claims police and
There were so many abusers... they came from across the country GIRL ONE REVEALING HER HORRIFIC 3-YEAR ORDEAL
social workers dismissed and ridiculed her. She said: “I was in contact with police and social workers on a weekly basis. There were countless injuries. I’d come back with throttle marks on my neck, I was covered in cigarette burns. Police found me with these men at least 10 times. I was a kid, off my rocker on drink and drugs.
“They should have said, ‘She’s 13. What are you playing at?’ Instead, they threat
JAIL Brothers Akhtar and Anjum Dogar
was there but officials ignored me ABUSE VICTIM ON WHY SHE IS SUING AUTHORITIES
ened to arrest me. One officer said, ‘ You’re going to get someone into big trouble one day’.
“I’d be in a police station for hours after suffering the most horrific abuse, waiting for my social worker. I was 13 and stinking of these men. Smelling the abuse on you is so triggering.
“But my social worker told me it was a figment of my imagination. I think fear of appearing racist was part of it because the evidence was right in front of them. There were times alone in the dark where I questioned my sanity. I thought I was a bad person who made things up about people.”
She escaped her tormentors aged 15 by throwing her phone away – removing the gang’s line of contact.
EVIDENCE
Five years later, police asked if she would give evidence as part of Operation Bullfinch. She testified without a protective screen, choosing to face the men who stole her childhood. Akhtar and Anjum Dogar were jailed for a minimum 17 years for crimes including rape and child trafficking.
But Girl One said officers “dropped her like a stone” after the verdict.
She said: “They called me their star witness and said if it wasn’t for me there wouldn’t have been a case.
“That pressure was insane but I got no mental health support. Sentencing day was shocking. One officer said, ‘It’s time for a drink, we need to celebrate’.
“No one asked if I was all right. I had
PTSD, I was begging for help. How I hadn’t committed suicide, I don’t know, I was falling to bits.”
Oxfordshire County Council paid for therapy but she still lived in terror. Three years ago, she fled the county after receiving terrifying threats.
She said: “A Range Rover full of Pakistani men came screeching round the corner. They shouted threats. I thought they were going to hack me to death.
“I haven’t had closure because I haven’t had the answers I need. How could the police and social services not have seen a pattern in our behaviour? I think it was purposely ignored.”
Thames Valley Police said: “The victim has indicated she will be taking civil action, therefore it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage.”
Oxfordshire County Council said: “The council has fully acknowledged previous failings on many occasions and apologised. The council did offer high levels of assistance to victims.
“Since the trial the children’s social care teams have been consistently rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted and praised for the way they now deal with instances of child sexual exploitation.”