In northern UK, girls were ‘at mercy’ of paedophile grooming gangs for years: review
- Abuse of youngsters in Rochdale between 2004 and 2013 was repeated in a string of other scandals uncovered in recent years in British towns and cities
- A series of court cases eventually led to the conviction of dozens of men, mostly of South Asian origin. Victims were schoolgirls who were mostly white
Failings by police and council bosses left girls “at the mercy” of paedophile grooming gangs in northern England for years, according to an independent review published on Monday.
The abuse of youngsters in Rochdale between 2004 and 2013 was repeated in a string of other scandals uncovered in recent years in British towns and cities including Rotherham, Oldham and Oxford.
A series of court cases eventually led to the conviction of dozens of men, mostly of South Asian origin.
The victims were schoolgirls who were mostly white.
The damning 173-page review sets out multiple failed investigations by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) into the Rochdale abuse.
“Successive police operations were launched over this period, but these were insufficiently resourced to match the scale of the widespread organised exploitation within the area,” lead author Malcolm Newsam said.