Report finds Children ‘Left at Mercy’ of Rochdale Grooming Gangs

A new report has found that children were left “at the mercy” of Rochdale grooming gangs because of an “inadequate” response by police and council bosses.

The 173-page report into Operation Span also identified 96 men still deemed a potential risk to children.

The report is the result of a six-year investigation commissioned by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

It covered 2004 to 2013 and reviewed the cases of 111 children on police files.

The findings revealed that 74 children were victims of sexual exploitation, with 48 instances pointing to “serious failures” in their protection.

The report outlined numerous unsuccessful police investigations and a seeming lack of concern from local authorities regarding the predicament of numerous young individuals, predominantly white girls from impoverished backgrounds, all identified as potential victims of abuse by Asian men.

Steven Watson, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, deemed the findings “shocking, stark and shameful”.

He added: “One of the primary responsibilities of the police is to protect the vulnerable from the cruel and predatory, and in this regard, we failed you.”

Chief Constable Watson said the “lessons from our past had been well and truly learned” and were “solidly baked” into the systems used by police and partner agencies involved in child safeguarding today.

“I would never stand here and complacently assert that we are perfect, we are certainly not, and regrettably mistakes could well similarly be made into the future.

“But what I am saying is that our current practices and working arrangements have altered dramatically and are now reflective of the highest national standards.”

The report found “compelling evidence” of widespread, organised sexual abuse of children in Rochdale from as early as 2004.

In 2007, a crisis team, led by Sara Rowbotham, notified GMP and Rochdale Council about the involvement of a grooming gang.

Although GMP identified the ringleaders, they did not pursue further investigation due to the children’s fear of cooperating.

The report deemed this a “serious failure” in protecting the children, as it overlooked the coercion and control exerted by the groomers over their victims and families.

Another police investigation into two takeaway shops in Rochdale, involving 30 adult male suspects, was prematurely halted due to insufficient resources from police bosses and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) deeming the main child victim an unreliable witness.

In January 2010, a child informed a social worker about widespread abuse by up to 60 men in Rochdale.

A detective inspector requested additional staff for investigation, but the report indicates that police bosses denied the request.

The report said: “Once more, children were left at the mercy of their abusers because of an inadequate response by GMP and children’s social care to the serious exploitation of vulnerable children.”

It was not until December that GMP finally acted.

In May 2012, a high-profile court case resulted in the conviction of nine men following an operation that uncovered the horrifying abuse of girls as young as 12, who were given alcohol and drugs before being gang-raped in rooms above takeaway shops.

Greater Manchester Police lauded it as a “fantastic result of British justice” at the time.

However, the recently released report exposes the shortcomings of the police operation.

It failed to address numerous other crimes and dismissed children’s allegations, allowing their perpetrators to escape justice.

Despite police and council leaders portraying the court convictions as a resolution to grooming in the town, the report reveals that it merely scratched the surface.

In reality, the report concludes that the issue did not receive “sufficient priority,” even though senior and middle managers in both the police and children’s social care were aware of the extent of the abuse.

The report continued: “We regard this as a lamentable strategic failure by senior leaders in GMP and Rochdale Council.”

Malcolm Newsam CBE, a renowned childcare expert who co-authored the report, said:

“Successive police operations were launched, but these were insufficiently resourced to match the scale of the widespread organised exploitation within the area.

“Consequently, children were left at risk and many of their abusers to this day have not been apprehended.”

The Rochdale report is part of a series authored by the same individuals who investigated grooming in Manchester and Oldham.

These reports revealed a recurrent failure of authorities, resulting in children being victimised by grooming gangs.

Mr Newsam collaborated with Gary Ridgeway, a former detective superintendent, to compile the report.

The investigation was prompted by whistleblowers Ms Rowbotham and Maggie Oliver, a former GMP detective who resigned in protest.

Their concerns were prominently featured in the BBC TV documentary The Betrayed Girls, which aired in 2017.

The report highlights Ms Rowbotham and Ms Oliver as “lone voices” who raised alarms about substantial evidence pointing to the widespread and serial rape of numerous children in Rochdale.

Subsequently, Ms Oliver established The Maggie Oliver Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

At a press conference on January 15, 2024, Mr Burnham praised both Ms Rowbotham and Ms Oliver for their “determination and courage” in coming forward.

Speaking about the report, he said: “It is only by facing up fully and unflinchingly to what happened in all of its horrifying detail, we can be sure of bringing about the whole system culture change that is necessary on this critically important issue.”

GMP has since launched further investigations, resulting in the conviction of 42 men involved in the abuse of 13 children so far.

According to Rochdale Council, recent Ofsted inspections have found “the way children at risk of sexual exploitation are protected by Rochdale’s children’s services has improved”.

Both the council and the police say they have overhauled the way they prevent and respond to child sexual exploitation to ensure that victims and survivors are cared for and receive the expected level of service.