Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal

The Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal refers to the existence of widespread child sexual abuse in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, between 1997 and 2013, and its alleged cover-up.

In 2010, five men of Islamic, Pakistani heritage were found guilty of a series of sexual offences against girls as young as twelve. A subsequent investigation by The Times reported that the child sex exploitation was much more widespread, and the Home Affairs Select Committee criticised the South Yorkshire Police force and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council for their handling of the abuse.

An independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, led by Professor Alexis Jay, was established in 2013 for Rotherham Council. The Inquiry's initial report was published on 26 August 2014. It found that around 1,400 children had been sexually exploited in the town between 1997 and 2013, predominantly by gangs of Islamic, British-Pakistani men. Abuses described by the report included abduction, rape and sex trafficking of children. Members of the British-Pakistani community condemned both the sexual abuse and that it had been covered up for fear of "giving oxygen" to racism.

2010 trial

In 2010, eight men were tried in Sheffield Crown Court for a series of sexual offences against young girls. Five of the men were convicted and jailed in November 2010. The men had fostered relationships with girls as young as twelve, and raped them in cars and parks.

Name	Conviction	Sentence
Zafran Ramzan	rape, 2 charges of sexual activity with a child	9 years
Razwan Razaq	2 charges of sexual activity with a child	11 years
Umar Razaq	sexual activity with a child	4.5 years
Adil Hussain	sexual activity with a child	4 years
Mohsin Khan	sexual activity with a child	4 years

The guilty men were told by the judge that, "the message must go out loud and clear that our society will not tolerate sexual predators preying on children." Razwan Razaq was given the longest sentence, as he had had a previous conviction for indecently assaulting a young girl in his car, and had breached a previous sexual offences prevention order. In addition to their sentences, all five were placed on the sex offenders register.

The Times investigation

In September 2012, a series of investigations by The Times based on confidential police and social services documents, stated that the abuse had been much more widespread than acknowledged. It said that there was systematic abuse of white girls by some Asian men (mostly of Pakistani origin) in Rotherham for which people were not being prosecuted.

The newspaper cited a 2010 report by the police intelligence bureau which discussed "a problem with networks of Asian offenders both locally and nationally" which was "particularly stressed in Sheffield and even more so in Rotherham, where there appears to be a significant problem with networks of Asian males exploiting young white females". It also referred to a document from the Rotherham Safeguarding Children Board that stated that the "crimes had 'cultural characteristics...which are locally sensitive in terms of diversity'".

South Yorkshire Police denied these accusations, saying that The Times was wrong and that to suggest the police force was deliberately withholding information was "a gross distortion and unfair on the teams of dedicated specialists working to tackle the problem."

Reactions

The Rotherham MP, Denis MacShane, criticised the police force for concealing the extent of the abuse, saying "it is clear that the internal trafficking of barely pubescent girls is much more widespread and I regret that the police did not tell Yorkshire MPs about their inquiries."

Lord Ahmed called for mosque leaders in South Yorkshire to highlight the problem of sex exploitation. He said this issue was a "new phenomenon within the Asian community" and that "it's important that the community, rather than going silent... talk about it." Muhbeen Hussain, founder of Rotherham Muslim Youth group, said all communities denounced the exploitation and that "we need Muslim leaders to go out there and condemn this and make it clear it's wrong." The chairman of the Pakistan and Muslim Centre in Sheffield, Mohammed Ali said the South Yorkshire mosques, the imams and the committee members had discussed this situation that "needs to be tackled."

In November 2012, the Rotherham council identified 58 possible victims of sexual exploitation. The director of children and young people's services attributed the rise from 50 of last year to an increased public awareness. A national report by the Office of Children's Commissioner, also published in November, found that thousands of children were sexually abused by gangs in England each year.

Home Affairs Select Committee

In October 2012, the Home Affairs Select Committee criticised South Yorkshire's chief constable, David Compton, and one of its top officers, Philip Etheridge, for their handling of child sex abuse. The committee heard evidence of three members of a family that were connected with the abuse of 61 girls but were not convicted, and of a similarly unconvicted 22-year-old man who was found in a car with a 12-year-old girl with indecent images of her on his phone. David Compton said that "ethnic origin" was not a factor in deciding whether to charge suspects. The committee said that they were very concerned, as was the public.

In January 2013, the head of Rotherham council, Martin Kimber, was summoned in front of the Select Committee to explain the lack of arrests for sexual exploitation, despite South Yorkshire Police saying it was conducting several investigations and the local council having identified 58 young girls at risk. MP Keith Vaz questioned why after the five Asian men were jailed in 2010, more was not being done: "In Lancashire there were 100 prosecutions the year before last, in South Yorkshire there were no prosecutions". The council apologised for its "systemic failure" that had "let down" the victims of child sexual exploitation.

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham

In November 2013, it was announced that Professor Alexis Jay, a former chief social work adviser to the Scottish government, would lead an independent inquiry for Rotherham Council, into the local authority's handling of cases involving child exploitation since 1997.

The Inquiry's initial report was published on 26 August 2014. The report, commissioned by Rotherham Borough Council, revealed that the number of children sexually exploited in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013 was, by "conservative estimate", at least 1,400. According to the report, children as young as eleven were "raped by multiple perpetrators, abducted, trafficked to other cities in England, beaten and intimidated." Three previous inquiries - held in 2002, 2003 and 2006 - had presented similar findings but, according to the report, had been "effectively suppressed" because officials "did not believe the data". Dr Angie Heal, a strategic drugs analyst who had prepared the 2003 report, had noted three years after its publication - according to Professor Jay - that "the appeal of organised sexual exploitation for Asian gangs had changed. In the past, it had been for their personal gratification, whereas now it offered 'career and financial opportunities to young Asian men who got involved'."

The inquiry team found examples of "children who had been doused in petrol and threatened with being set alight, threatened with guns, made to witness brutally violent rapes and threatened they would be next if they told anyone". The report further stated that "one child who was being prepared to give evidence received a text saying the perpetrator had her younger sister and the choice of what happened next was up to her. She withdrew her statements. At least two other families were terrorised by groups of perpetrators, sitting in cars outside the family home, smashing windows, making abusive and threatening phone calls. On some occasions child victims went back to perpetrators in the belief that this was the only way their parents and other children in the family would be safe. In the most extreme cases, no one in the family believed that the authorities could protect them."

While the majority of perpetrators were known to be Asian or of Pakistani heritage, several council staff described themselves as being nervous about identifying the ethnic origins of perpetrators for fear of being thought racist; others, the report noted, "remembered clear direction from their managers" not to make such identification. One Home Office researcher, attempting to raise concerns with senior police officers in 2002 over the level of abuse, was told not to do so again, and was subsequently suspended and sidelined. The report noted that the police showed lack of respect for the victims, who were deemed "undesirables".

Reactions

Members of the British-Pakistani community condemned both the sexual abuses and the fact they had been covered up by authorities out of fear of "giving oxygen" to racism. Borough council leader Roger Stone, of the Labour Party, resigned - an act of contrition the report said should have been made years earlier - saying he would take full responsibility for "the historic failings described so clearly in the report." Rotherham Council Chief Executive, Martin Kimber, nevertheless said no council officers will face disciplinary action. Nazir Afzal, the Crown Prosecution Service's lead on child sexual abuse and himself a Muslim, said that the abuse had no basis in Islam and was caused by negative views of women present in all sectors. He also claimed "Where you have Pakistani men, Asian men, disproportionately employed in the night-time economy, they are going to be more involved in this kind of activity than perhaps white men are."

Denis MacShane, the MP for Rotherham between 1994 and his resignation in 2012, said in a BBC radio interview that that no-one had come to him with child abuse allegations during that period, but commented that he should have "burrowed into" the issue. He admitted that although he had argued with a local MP and members of the local council who had objected to the press investigation into the child abuse, as a "Guardian reader, and liberal leftie" he had avoided confronting the Muslim community itself, explaining: "I think there was a culture of not wanting to rock the multicultural community boat if I may put it like that."

Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale, stated that an "unhealthy brand of politics 'imported' from Pakistan" was "partly to blame for the cover-up of mass child abuse in Rotherham". He said that “There are cultural issues around the way politics are done in the Asian community which have to change.”

Shaun Wright, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for South Yorkshire since 2012, was also a Labour councillor in charge of child safety at the council for 5 years from 2005-10. He initially refused demands that he resign as PCC, made by members of his own political party including local Labour MP Sarah Champion, saying: "I believe I am the most appropriate person to hold this office at this current time." He finally resigned from the Labour Party on 27 August 2014, after been given an ultimatum by Labour to either resign from his post or face suspension from the party. Wright remains South Yorkshire's PCC.

The Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, David Crompton, said on 2 September that an independent report had been commissioned to investigate the force's handling of the scandal. The investigation would "examine the role of both the police and council... and address any wrongdoings or failings," and be led by a different police force.

See also

• Rochdale sex trafficking gang
• Derby sex gang
• Oxford sex gang
• Telford sex gang

External links

• Jay, Alexis (21 August 2014). "Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham (1997–2013)". Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
• "Rotherham child abuse scandal: The background to the report". BBC News. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.