Operation Sanctuary achieves ‘milestone’ conviction of 18 ‘vile’ grooming network members

A gang has been found guilty of plying vulnerable women and girls as young as 13 with drink and drugs before sexually assaulting them.

In a series of trials at Newcastle Crown Court, 17 men and one woman were convicted of almost 100 offences including rape, human trafficking and conspiracy to incite prostitution.

Northumbria Police said this represents a “significant milestone” in Operation Sanctuary – a widespread investigation into child sexual exploitation launched at the beginning of 2014.

In a move that has attracted some concerns, the force paid a convicted child rapist – described by a judge as “inherently unreliable” – £9,680 over 21 months to infiltrate the grooming network, attending parties where victims were suspected of being abused.

Since the launch of Operation Sanctuary, 461 arrests have taken place, 703 complainants have been spoken to and 278 victims have been identified.

Due to its size, it has been split into a number of spin-off operations, with Operation Shelter focusing on the 22 victims’ cases.

Gang members invited the victims to “sessions” at various properties in Newcastle, luring them with alcohol, mephedrone and cannabis, and expected the girls to offer sexual services in return.

Aged between 13 and 25, the victims were targeted because they were vulnerable and “less likely to complain”, the court heard.

Accounts revealed some young women were drugged before waking up completely undressed, having been sexually assaulted.

The girls met the abusers through friends or on social media, and the men would persistently message them in the early hours of the morning to go to an address to “chill” or invite them to parties.

Following the final trial on Wednesday (August 9), Chief Constable Steve Ashman said: “I must start by praising the absolute bravery, dignity and composure of the victims throughout this incredibly gruelling process.

“Many of us will never understand the traumatic experience some of these women and girls have endured and they have my wholehearted commitment that, together with our partners, we will continue to provide them with all the support they need. They have trusted us and we must not let them down.”

The informant used by Northumbria Police – known as XY – fell out with his police handler, and made a number of misconduct accusations in 2016, leading to an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which found the force had no case to answer.

An application from the defence to stop the trials on the basis that XY’s allegations undermined the investigation was rejected by HH Judge Moreland.

Mr Ashman said XY’s relationships with members of the gang allowed the force to prevent and detect some of the “most serious crimes” occurring in Newcastle, adding that this would not have been possible through “conventional methods”.

He continued: “We have to deal with people who themselves are guilty of some of the most vile offences imaginable.

“Quite often these people can`t be trusted, but the potential prize is that you just might get a piece of information, intelligence possibly, even evidence, that might just lead you to a successful conviction and you put bad people behind bars.”

Northumbria police and crime commissioner Vera Baird also said: “I would have wished this man not to be used, in particular because of his conviction for rape. But, I have questioned the chief constable and in liaison with other senior officers, Mr Ashman has satisfied me that the difficult moral decision to use the informant was taken with care and with particular regard to the welfare of victims.

“I am assured that the information this male supplied has contributed to the investigation and hence to the prosecution of these dangerous men, that it could not have been obtained in any other way, and that it will have ensured the speedier rescue and safeguarding of vulnerable women who would otherwise have continued to suffer abuse.”

However, the NSPCC has said it is “appalled” to find a child rapist was used as an info