In Rotherham, England, five women have come forward claiming they were abused by police officers during the period when grooming gangs were targeting and sexually exploiting at least 1,400 girls, mostly of Pakistani heritage. The women, who were children at the time, have provided written accounts of the abuse that occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s. These accounts, along with testimony from 25 other victims, suggest that some police officers were involved with the grooming gangs or failed to act on reports of child sexual exploitation.
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One of the women, known as Willow, said she was raped by a serving South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officer from the age of 12. The officer would use his power to threaten her into compliance, claiming he would hand her back to the gang if she did not submit to his abuse. Willow also named PC Hassan Ali, who died in 2015, as one of her abusers.
Switalskis Solicitors, a specialist child abuse legal firm, has collected the testimonies as part of a potential civil claim against SYP. However, only 17 of the 30 women have agreed to give their statements to the police. Some have withdrawn from the SYP investigation due to a lack of trust in the force or the justice system.
The current criminal investigation into the involvement of police officers in the grooming scandal is being led by SYP's major crime unit under the oversight of the police watchdog, the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC). Prof Alexis Jay, who led the original inquiry into abuse in Rotherham, is "shocked" that SYP is investigating its own officers and believes the investigation should be handed to an independent force or body.
The solicitors representing the victims have raised concerns that some officers may be protecting the force's reputation rather than prioritizing the welfare of children. Former IOPC investigator Garry Harper has also criticized the previous investigation, Operation Linden, which concluded that SYP "managed to evade almost any accountability" and was an "abject failure."
The IOPC has assured that there is no conflict of interest in the current investigation, stating that none of the officers involved in the case had worked with those under investigation or faced charges in Operation Linden. However, the victims' advocates argue that an independent force would be better suited to handle the investigation due to potential biases and the sensitive nature of the allegations.
BBC News