A belief that children who were being groomed and sexually exploited were ‘troublesome’ lay at the heart of authorities’ failure to protect them from abuse, leaders have admitted. The acknowledgement over attitudes towards victims of abuse was made at a press conference on Monday announcing the findings of a damning review into child sexual explotiation (CSE) in Oldham.
The report lays out the tragic story of 12-year-old ‘Sophie’ - not her real name - who fell into the hands of predators after trying to report a sexual assualt at Oldham police station. After being told to ‘come back with an adult when she ‘was not drunk’, she suffered a further 24 hours of torment in which she was raped repeatedly.
Social services had previously been dismissive when Sophie separately told them she was forming a relationship with an older man over the internet, accusing her of being ‘prone to fantasise’ and ‘putting herself at risk’. Baroness Bev Hughes, Deputy Greater Manchester Mayor for policing and crime, told reporters that while the review had found no evidence CSE was covered up by Oldham council or Greater Manchester Police (GMP), it did uncover ‘serious failings’ by both organisations.
