A Rotherham survivor claims she has been “raped by the system” after a report on the scandal revealed that nearly 50 police officers kept their jobs while looking the other way, as 1,400 girls were abused. trafficked and fixed.
Sammy Woodhouse, 37, who was arrested and raped at the age of 14, was “upset” because “no professional will be held responsible.”
The long-awaited investigation into the police watchdog – which took eight years to release and cost £ 6 million – found that South Yorkshire officers “did not protect vulnerable children” after a series of crimes committed between 1997 and 2013.
A total of 47 current and former officers were investigated by the Independent Police Conduct Office (IOPC), but none were fired, although more than 50 whistleblowers made 265 separate complaints.
The IOPC investigation categorized how children up to the age of 12 were considered to “consent” to their abuse by officers, who were told to prioritize other crimes.
The report was received with a shout of fury from activists and current police chiefs, who admitted that the victims had been disappointed.
Ms Woodhouse, who has renounced her anonymity, told the Sun: “I am disgusted that no professional is responsible.
“Thousands of children and families have lost their lives. This has made me feel like the system has violated me.
“Life should be hard for rapists, not for us. They have every right, we have none.”
Meanwhile, the father of another survivor told Mirror his anger that no criminal proceedings had been instituted against the officers, although he himself had been previously detained for breaking the peace while trying to rescue his daughter.
He said: “It’s the biggest embarrassment I’ve ever known. It’s insulting to every girl and family member.
‘They just roll their eyes like everyone else. I find it very, very disgusting and absolutely atrocious that we have not seen any justice for this.
South Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner said yesterday’s findings “do not identify any individual responsibility”, while the city MP said the report “exposes the terrible systemic errors of the police South Yorkshire “.
Locals in the city also expressed their displeasure, including sisters Danielle Holmes and Tammy Frail.
They told the BBC: “The police did not do a good enough job of protecting people.
“We know a couple of victims and we know they didn’t get all the support they probably should have received. I bet they feel punished, not the police.
‘If you go to the police for help, they should help you. It doesn’t make you feel safe when they only receive a final written notice.
The IOPC report detailed how a father, worried about a missing daughter, said an officer told them it was a “fashion accessory” for Rotherham girls to have a “big Asian boyfriend” and that he would get away with it. “.
The document revealed how the dog approved a total of 43 complaints filed against the force. These errors included:
- Do not investigate an elderly man who was found naked in a bedroom with one of the victims;
- Not acting when a criminal handed them a missing girl as part of a “deal” not to arrest him;
- Doing nothing after approaching a parked car where a victim and her sister were, although the assailant told them that one of the girls had just had sex with him;
- Telling a girl’s father that nothing could be done because of the “racial tensions” surrounding the investigation;
- Not safeguarding a victim who was driven 180 miles to Bristol by two men
Rotherham Preparation Band survivor Sammy Woodhouse, 37, says she has been “raped by the system”
Women including Karen MacGregor (bottom-middle) and Shelley Davies (bottom right) were among the historical aggressors.
Aggressors: (Top row, left to right 🙂 Tayab Dad, Nasar Dad, Basharat Dad. (Bottom row from left to right 🙂 Matloob Hussain, Mohammed Sadiq and Amjad Ali prepared two girls in Rotherham
“Disappointed victims and survivors”: South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner goes into effect, saying the report “does not identify any individual responsibility” for the preparation of Rotherham
The long-awaited report on more than 200 allegations of police failure in relation to child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham “does not identify any individual responsibility” and “defraud victims and survivors,” said a police commissioner and crime.
Of the 47 officers investigated, eight were found to have one case to answer for misconduct and six had one case to answer for serious misconduct.
Five of these officers received sanctions ranging from management action to a final written notice.
Another faced a misbehavior hearing from South Yorkshire police earlier this year, and an independent group found the case unproven.
In many cases, officers had retired and could not face disciplinary proceedings, FIPOL said.
Only two cases reached the point of a public adjudication hearing.
South Yorkshire CCP Alan Billings said: “I am disappointed that, after eight years of costly research, this report does not make any significant recommendations beyond what South Yorkshire police have already accepted and implemented. previous research a few years ago.
“It repeats what previous reports and reviews have shown: that there was an unacceptable practice between 1997 and 2013, but it does not identify any individual responsibility.
“As a result, it disappoints victims and survivors.”
Dr. Billings added: “A lot of time and money has been spent on a few new findings or responsibilities.”
He said it was unfair that officers had had allegations of misconduct “for so long”, but said the force was now “on a path of continuous improvement”.
IOPC Director-General Michael Lockwood said in the report: “We found that officers were not fully aware or capable of dealing with child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSE) crimes and showed empathy. insufficient for survivors who were vulnerable children and youth.
“We saw examples of SYPs who saw children and young people as ‘consenting’ to their exploitation, and a police culture that did not always recognize survivors as victims, or understood that often not those who were cared for or abused.”
The IOPC identified systemic problems with South Yorkshire police at the time, and detailed how a small “overflowing” unit, which had a number of other responsibilities, dealt with the CSE in Rotherham.
The report criticized the force for prioritizing other crimes, such as theft and vehicle offenses, at the expense of CSE and found “little evidence that SYP’s leadership identified and acted on emerging concerns about (CSE).”
IOPC Chief Research Officer Steve Noonan said: “Our report shows how SYP did not protect vulnerable children and young people.
“Like other Rotherham agencies at the time, it was simply not equipped to deal with the abuse and organized preparation of young girls on the scale we encountered.”
Noonan praised the CSE survivors in Rotherham who came forward to help their investigators conduct the largest investigation the watchdog has conducted apart from the Hillsborough disaster investigation.
He said 51 people filed complaints, including 44 survivors, with 265 separate complaints.
Of the 47 officers investigated, eight were found to have one case to answer for misconduct and six had one case to answer for serious misconduct.
Five of these officers received sanctions ranging from management action to a final written notice. Another faced a misbehavior hearing from South Yorkshire police earlier this year, and an independent group found the case unproven.
In many cases, officers had retired and could not face disciplinary proceedings, FIPOL said. Only two cases reached the point of a public adjudication hearing.
South Yorkshire CCP Alan Billings said: “I am disappointed that after eight years of costly investigations, this report does not make any significant recommendations beyond what South Yorkshire police have already accepted and implemented. earlier a few years ago.
“It repeats what previous reports and reviews have shown: that there was an unacceptable practice between 1997 and 2013, but it does not identify any individual responsibility.
South Yorkshire Deputy Chief of Police Tim Forber (pictured) admits the force dropped the victims
Rotherham MP says report “exposes terrible systemic errors”
Labor MP Sarah Champion said the report “exposes the terrible systemic errors of South Yorkshire police”.
“It has taken eight long years, but the truth is now in plain sight,” he said.
“I know from conversations with abuse survivors that their main motivation for participating in this process was to make sure no other child went through the hell they went through. Now we have to make sure that is the case.
He added: “South Yorkshire police have improved, but there is still a long way to go before confidence is restored, ensuring that the people of South Yorkshire regain confidence in their police force.”
“As a result, it disappoints victims and survivors.”
Dr. Billings said, “A lot of time and money has been spent on a few new findings or responsibilities.”
He said it was unfair for officers to have allegations of misconduct “for so long”, but said the force was now “on a path of continuous improvement”.
South Yorkshire Deputy Chief of Police Tim Forber said: “We fully accept the findings of the IOPC report which closely reflects those highlighted by Professor Alexis Jay in 2014.
“The Jay report provided a stark reality of our failures in managing the CSE. We disappoint the victims of CSE. We did not acknowledge their vulnerability and could not see them as victims, so I am deeply sorry. They deserved better than us.
“The brave stories of these girls caused a seismic change in police crimes of this nature in the South …