Grooming victims ‘let down by police’
CRIME: Dozens of children suspected of being groomed and abused by gangs of Asian men operating in “plain sight” were failed by police and local authorities, a damning report has concluded.
Some victims of “profound abuse” told carers and police officers about the sexual assaults, but no action was taken.
DOZENS OF children suspected of being groomed and abused by gangs of Asian men operating in “plain sight” were failed by police and local authorities, a damning report has concluded.
Some victims of “profound abuse” told carers and police officers about the sexual assaults, giving names and addresses, but no action was taken, according the report into child sexual exploitation in Manchester.
The 145-page report by Malcolm Newsam, a renowned child care expert, and Gary Ridgeway, a former Cambridgeshire Police detective superintendent, says: “The authorities knew that many were being subjected to the most profound abuse and exploitation but did not protect them from the perpetrators. This is a depressingly familiar picture and has been seen in many other towns and cities across the country.”
The report centres on Operation Augusta, which was set up in 2004 and prompted by the death of Victoria, a 15-year-old girl under the care of Manchester City Council. She reported being raped and injected with heroin by a 50-year-old Asian man, and died of a drugs overdose two months later on September 29, 2003.
The police operation identified at least 57 victims and 97 potential suspects, some involved with Victoria, and a “compelling picture of the systemic exploitation of looked after children in the care system” was established.
But senior Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers chose to under-resource the investigation, the report said, and a decision on April 22, 2005, to close it down was communicated to senior officers of Manchester City Council at a meeting later that day.
Minutes of both meetings have disappeared, though one officer’s note mentioned discussion of “press strategies” and several officials chose not to co-operate with the review. Its authors were also refused access to case files about Victoria held by the coroner.
The report looked at a “sample” of cases from the time, detailing allegations of rape and sexual abuse made by girls that were not followed up and resulted in no action by GMP or the council.
In each case, the report ends: “We cannot offer any assurance that this was appropriately addressed by either GMP or Manchester City Council.”
The report concludes it would be “wrong” to say the continuation of Operation Augusta would have “prevented further offending” but it is “of concern” that potential suspects have since been involved in grooming. It calls on the mayor, police and council to consider how those who appeared to present a risk in 2004 can be brought to justice and any risk they still pose be mitigated.