Oldham child sex abuse: Police made me feel like a criminal, victim says

Jane, who asked to remain anonymous, is calling for a public inquiry into the failings

A woman who was groomed by a gang as a child and abused by "hundreds of men" has said her treatment by police made her "feel like I was the criminal".

Jane, who asked to remain anonymous and is using a pseudonym, said the abuse began when she moved to Oldham, Greater Manchester, at the age of 12.

She said she told social services and the police about it but she was "left to fend on my own".

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Oldham Council have both apologised.

A report in June revealed serious failings by GMP and the authority in how they protected some children from sexual exploitation in the first half of the last decade.

GMP launched Operation Sherwood in response to the findings to reinvestigate cases like Jane's.

However, Jane said that operation was taking too long and the apologies she had received meant nothing unless the authorities changed their approach.

'The social knew'

She said older girls at her school, who were also being abused, had introduced her to the gang.

"It started with one guy and then another and another and you just get passed around," she said.

"I told the police and they weren't doing anything, the social weren't doing anything, so basically I was left to fend on my own."

She said her mother had also tried to get her help, giving police "number plates, the colours of cars, the names of the men".

"She actually gave them my Facebook password where there [were] hundreds of men in my messages at the time, and that was in the first month," she said.

"There comes a point when they just buy you alcohol and... drug you basically."

She said many of the attacks took place when she was living in Oldham Council's children's homes and under the care of social workers.

"[The abusers would] turn up outside and pick young girls up from the care homes," she said.

"The care home staff knew, the social knew."

GMP Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jackson said the force "absolutely recognise that we let victims down in the past"

She said she was subsequently arrested by police and made to "feel like I was the criminal when I was just a child".

"They were actually arresting me for drunk and disorderly when I was out on the streets, so I was being criminalised for what these men were doing to me," she said.

"Because they were criminalising me, I was scared to co-operate with them."

She said when she was 14, she was sexually assaulted by a much older man in Oldham, who later admitted it to police and was deported as an illegal immigrant.

However, she said officers told her she was lucky not to be prosecuted for prostitution.

She said the abuse continued until she moved away from the area at the age of 19.

'Extremely difficult issues'

Jane, who has called for a public inquiry into the failings, said she had already waited more than a decade for justice and had been told it could take years for anything to happen.

She said it was "not acceptable" for people who have suffered abuse to have it "drag on for so long".

"We're not going to be able to let that go until it's over with," she added.

GMP Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jackson said Jane's case was "a live and active investigation, so to comment on the details of the specific case could impact on our efforts to secure justice".

"Our Operation Sherwood team has been working with those involved in the non-recent cases of child sexual exploitation outlined in the independent report into child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Oldham," she said.

She added that the force "absolutely recognise that we let victims down in the past and we are determined not to allow a repeat of those mistakes".

"We will redouble efforts to inform those involved of our progress in what is a complex investigation [and] we will not stop until we have exhausted every line of enquiry."

Oldham Council leader Amanda Chadderton said she was "deeply sorry our social care services at the time were not good enough to protect this young woman when she needed our help the most".

She said the authority had "never shied away from these extremely difficult issues , which is why we asked for an independent review to be conducted into historic CSE in Oldham".

"We fully accept the findings of that independent report... which found that council and police services were often not good enough to protect young people from harm," she said.

"We could and should have done more to protect and support girls and young women that were abused in the past and, while our responses have changed beyond recognition since then, we know we can improve even further."

She said the authority's "focus now is on working together with partners including Greater Manchester Police to ensure those that committed these horrendous crimes are brought to justice".

"All cases that formed part of the review are being re-examined by police... who will leave no stone unturned in pursuing any further lines of enquiry."

She added that the council was "also doing all we can to support victims and survivors, working closely with local charity Keeping Our Girls Safe to ensure that those womens' voices are at the heart of our work" and urged anyone affected to contact the charity or the council's dedicated helpline.

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