16 years; 1,400 victims; and an array of councillors, local government employees, and police officers responsible for the neglect of children on a grossly significant scale.
The affects of the Jay Report that revealed more than a decade and a half of child abuse that was allowed to continue despite knowledge of the problem by the authorities and the police is still being felt. New reports from RT confirm that MP’s are investigating police failures given the severity and scale of the scandal where children as young as 11 were intimidated, physically abused, and raped.
South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable from 2004 to 2011, Meredydd Hughes, reportedly told the Home Affairs Select Committee that he had “no understanding of the scale and scope of what was going on in Rotherham.”
But the Committee remain unconvinced, saying “The committee doesn’t accept that you didn’t know anything about child grooming in your area.”
The news report brings to light fresh allegations of the intimidation of whistleblowers who wanted to bring to light what was going on during the years of abuse, as well as other organised gangs of Asian majority being discovered in Manchester and Oxford.
Government whistleblowers were allegedly threatened and intimidated by the police with one victim left “fearing for her life” when she was allegedly warned by officers “Wouldn’t it be a bad thing if some of those men [a child-sex grooming gang] found out where you live?”
Amid continuing calls for senior police and local government officials to resign, the ugly truth behind this scandal is set to reveal more and more of itself as investigations in to both the problem and the failures continue. The fact that so much more could, and should, have been done a long time ago has left an open wound which is set to take a long time to heal.
