Child abuse practised on ‘industrial scale’—PM

HUNDREDS OF girls may h ave been s ex u a l ly exploited after authorities repeatedly failed to tackle grooming gangs, a report has found.

As many as 373 children have been identif ied as potential victims in Oxfordshire over 16 years.

A highly-critical serious case review published yesterday reveals a catalogue of failings by authorities meant the scale of the child sexual exploitation in the county was not recognised and opportunities to tackle it were missed.

Accounts of abuse were not taken seriously, under-age girls were seen as having “consented” and described in terms that suggested they were partly to blame for their ordeal, the report said.

One victim was dismissed as a “nuisance” when she went to a police station covered in blood in the early hours of the morning, while a detective investigating an allegation of sex with a 13-year-old said she “could easily be mistaken for being 16”.

As details emerged of the scandal, which follows similar revelations in other towns, David Cameron, pictured, said children in Britain have suffered sexual abuse on an “industrial scale”.

The Prime Minister, whose constituency is in West Oxfordshire, said the report should be a “wake-up call”.

Alan Bedford, the review’s author, wrote: “What happened to the child victims of the sexual exploitation in Oxfordshire was indescribably awful.

“The child victims and their families feel very let down.

Sara Thornton, chief constable of Thames Valley Police, said the force is “ashamed” of the shortcomings identified in the report.

Jim Leivers, director for children, education and families at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “We fully accept that we made many mistakes.”