Appeal for Rotherham child sex abuse victims to come forward

The National Crime Agency is asking victims to contact them as part of its Operation Stovewood inquiry

The force investigating child sex abuse in Rotherham has appealed for victims to get in touch.

More than 1,000 victims have been identified by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of its Operation Stovewood investigation.

In excess of 200 suspects have been arrested with 20 people convicted so far. More charges are expected in 2022.

A report said that at least 1,400 children were subjected to sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013.

The new appeal for victims will see messages on social media, plus leaflets and posters placed in community and public buildings around the Rotherham area.

Philip Marshall, the NCA's head of Operation Stovewood, said the investigation was "lengthy and complex" and added that he expected it to "continue for some years yet".

"As an agency we are determined to do everything in our power to reach out to those victims or witnesses who are yet to come forward, and that is what this new appeal is all about," he said.

"We recognise that this can be, for some, a difficult step to take but I offer reassurance to victims that they will be listened to and offered the appropriate support by the NCA and our partners."

The NCA said that Operation Stovewood was the single largest law enforcement investigation into non-familial child sexual abuse in the UK, with more than 200 officers working on it.

Potential victims and witnesses can contact the team via the NCA website.

The 2014 report commissioned by Rotherham Council and written by Professor Alexis Jay said that at least 1,400 children were subjected to sexual exploitation in the town between 1997 and 2013.

Children as young as 11 were raped, trafficked, abducted, beaten, and intimidated, predominantly by men of Pakistani heritage, it said.

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