Force apologises for failure to prosecute Rochdale abusers

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have been criticised for dropping a case in 2008 which allowed a gang to sexually exploit young girls for a prolonged period.

Nine men were found guilty of being part of a child sexual exploitation ring in Greater Manchester earlier this week and received terms in prison. The men, from Rochdale and Oldham, groomed girls, some as young as 13.

Liverpool Crown Court was told that the men gave their victims drink and drugs and sexually abused them while in a vulnerable state. On some occasions the girls were beaten if they did not agree to demands and on others they had no recollection or knowledge of what was being done to them.

The 11-week trial concluded on Tuesday, but since then it has emerged that the issue first came to light in 2008 when a teenager was arrested outside a takeaway in Heywood in August 2008 for being disruptive. She alleged one of the workers had groomed and then raped her. GMP Officers subsequently investigated Kabeer Hassan, one of the nine men, who was found guilty, and another man, aged 59.

However, the CPS dropped the case almost one year later after a lawyer had viewed six hours of video testimony from the girl and also had DNA evidence, but decided the alleged victim would not be viewed as a credible witness by a jury. The decision is thought to have allowed the abuse to go undetected for another two years.

The dropping of the original case meant that all police investigations were stopped, a decision that is now the subject of a separate inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

The original lawyer has since been taken off rape cases and is undergoing retraining.

This week’s convictions were made possible only after a second girl made similar claims in December 2009 which led to detectives launching Operation Span. The investigation identified more than 40 vulnerable girls across Rochdale and Heywood who were the subject of on-street grooming by a network of men, mostly takeaway employees and taxi drivers.

The case, involving Asian defendants and white victims, led to protests by far-right groups but GMP said the case was not racially motivated.

Two of the defendants on trial, Qamar Shazad and Liaquat Shah both of Rochdale, were acquitted while a 59-year-old Oldham man – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – was convicted. All the other men were found guilty.

The court was told that the abuse, which began in 2008, took place at two takeaways in the town involving a group of men aged between 24 and 59.

After the verdicts, GMP and the CPS apologised for the way it handled the investigation.

Assistant Chief Constable Steven Heywood said: “We apologise to anyone that has suffered due to any failing on our part. We probably could have done things better.

“We and other agencies are on a journey, we know more about this kind of crime than we did in 2008.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Mary Doyle, head of GMP’s Public Protection Division, added: “Since this case first came to light we have fundamentally changed the way we deal with all vulnerable members of the community.

“Like many forces, Greater Manchester Police now has working strategies in place to combat child exploitation and will work together with other agencies to prosecute people who target vulnerable children and young people.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) added that while there are occasions when cultural issues do arise, the police must work across all boundaries to tackle child sexual exploitation.

Peter Davies, ACPO lead on child protection and child abuse investigation, and chief executive of CEOP, said: “Successful early interventions to protect children depend on effective multi-agency working, both at a national and local level. ACPO continues to work with our strategic partners in this area.”