Girl missing from care, 13, found at rapist's home

The girl, referred to only as "Alpha" to protect her anonymity, was taken into care when she was six years old (library image)

A 13-year-old girl who went missing from her children's home was found nine days later in the house of a man who was later convicted of raping her, a safeguarding review has found.

The girl, known only as Alpha in the review, has been under the care of Oldham Council since 2016 when, as a six-year-old, she was fostered along with one of her six older siblings.

The review found Alpha's foster placement "broke down" between 2021 and 2023 when she was separated from her sister. After she was reported missing, police discovered her at the rapist's house.

Oldham Councillor Shaid Mushtaq said the "deeply distressing" case had led to an overhaul of the local authority's safeguarding policies.

'Trafficked by their father'

The review found that before she went missing, Alpha had experienced "significant instability" and had moved between nine different placements in 25 months, with some lasting only a month.

During that time she was separated from her sister and was eventually housed in a residential setting more than 70 miles away from home.

Alpha went missing in September 2023 with a 12-year-old young person from the same children's home.

Police located Alpha and her sister in a man's house in Oldham nine days later.

Alpha told officers she "had sex with multiple men and been taking drugs".

Information also came to light that she and her sisters had all been trafficked by their father to various men and had been sexually abused while living with their parents.

'Increased alienation'

Oldham Safeguarding Children Partnership ordered a complex safeguarding case review immediately after Alpha was found.

This was delayed until 2024 due to difficulties finding an expert, whose report was only published recently.

While it praised "numerous examples of good practice" by professionals in charge of Alpha's care, there was "a direct correlation between the impact of separation from her family, her unhappiness and how these push-pull factors increased her exposure to risk and harm".

Separating Alpha from her sister "proved to be a significant loss and created additional trauma" for the teenager and increased her feeling of alienation.

'Significant changes made'

Councillor Mushtaq, cabinet member for children and young people in Oldham, said: "This was a deeply distressing case, and my thoughts are first and foremost with Alpha and her siblings.

"No child should ever have to experience what they went through, and as a council we are truly sorry for the pain and trauma they have suffered.

"While there were professionals who showed real dedication and care, there were also areas where we should have done better.

"We have taken these findings extremely seriously and acted on the learning points identified.

"Since these tragic incidents... we have made significant changes to strengthen our safeguarding work.

"That includes earlier identification of risk, better coordination between agencies, and a renewed focus on making sure that every child's voice is heard, understood and acted upon.

"We have also invested in staff training around cultural awareness and trauma-informed practice, to ensure that decisions fully reflect each child's individual background and needs."