Britain's FBI takes over probe into police officers accused of historic sex abuse of Rotherham girls
Last month, survivors of sexual exploitation in the town said they had 'no faith' in the South Yorkshire Police (SYP) investigation into its former officers in relation to a series of allegations.
On Friday, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced its 'directed investigation into non-recent child sex abuse complaints from victim-survivors against former South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officers' will now be carried out by the NCA, under the IOPC's direction and control.
The investigation was being carried out by SYP's major crime unit, under the IOPC's direction, and three former officers have been arrested.
But the IOPC said it was responding to 'concerns about SYP's involvement and a perception of a conflict of interest'.
It said it was a joint decision with SYP to ask the NCA to take over.
The IOPC said that 'while we remain satisfied there was no conflict of interest with SYP' it believes that 'transferring the investigation to the NCA may provide further reassurance to victim-survivors'.
Lawyers representing survivors welcomed the move as a 'step in the right direction' but said their clients remained concerned over the continued involvement of the IOPC.
IOPC director Emily Barry said: 'Victim-survivors are always at the centre of our investigations and it's extremely important that they have trust and confidence in the investigation.
'We recognise the concerns that have been raised by some about SYP investigating serious complaints relating to former SYP officers and we want to ensure that any victim-survivors feel able to come forward with complaints about former SYP officers.'
Five women told the BBC how they were exploited by grooming gangs in the town when they were children and also sexually abused by officers.
According to a special report by the BBC, one girl was raped from the age of 12 in a marked police car and the officer threatened to hand her back to the groomers if she did not do as he said.
The NCA said the investigation will be carried out by officers from Operation Stovewood - the agency's huge, decade-long investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
Operation Stovewood identified more than 1,100 children involved in the exploitation in Rotherham.
Philip Marshall, head of Operation Stovewood, said: 'The National Crime Agency will ensure that victims remain at the heart of this investigation, as we continue the extensive work that South Yorkshire Police has begun.
'Though our investigation will be independent of South Yorkshire Police, we will work closely with the force and the Independent Office for Police Conduct to ensure that victims receive the best service and support as the investigation is transferred to us.
'I encourage any further victims, or anyone with information that might help our investigation, to please contact the National Crime Agency by calling our 24-hour phone line or emailing the investigation team. Alternatively they can contact the Independent Office for Police Conduct.'
Last month, the law firm Switalskis, which represents survivors of abuse in Rotherham, said it had hoped that alleged abuse by officers would have been unearthed following Operation Linden - a long-running, IOPC investigation into how police responded to child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
The firm said in a statement in July: 'That never came. For years SYP resisted our requests for an investigation into the alleged criminality of police officers, despite us providing them with the accounts of survivors.
'Those that have suffered abuse in Rotherham have no faith that SYP will do a thorough job of investigating alleged abuse by their own officers.'
In 2022, Operation Linden concluded that SYP fundamentally failed in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people during the period under investigation.
In a fresh statement on Friday, Switalskis said: 'We are pleased that South Yorkshire Police (SYP) has decided to hand the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse, corruption, and the facilitation of abuse by former SYP officers to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
'However, we remain concerned that the investigation is still being directed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), given the concerns raised by whistleblowers in relation to Operation Linden earlier this year.
'Nevertheless, we view this as a step in the right direction and hope that more survivors will now feel able to come forward to the NCA.'
South Yorkshire's Mayor Oliver Coppard said: 'Victims and survivors should always be our priority.
'They deserve to feel heard, believed, and supported, and they must have confidence in the people and systems that are there to make sure justice is done.
'That's why it was right that who leads the investigation into these allegations was kept under review, and why I'm pleased that SYP, the IOPC and the NCA have listened to the concerns of those young women who have come forward to talk about their experiences.'
Last month, girls who were exploited by Asian grooming gangs in Rotherham came forward with allegations that they were also preyed upon by police officers.
One says she was raped from the age of 12 by a serving South Yorkshire Police officer in a marked car, the BBC reports.
He would threaten to hand her back to the gang if she did not comply, she says.
The woman is one of five who allege that as children they were exploited by corrupt police as well as grooming gangs.
Among officers alleged to have preyed on girls is PC Hassan Ali.
He died in 2015 having been hit by a car on the day he was suspended over alleged misconduct during the abuse scandal.
Sammy Woodhouse, victim of the grooming scandal turned campaigner who exposed the Rotherham cases, says she named Ali as an abuser back in 2013.
At least 1,400 girls in Rotherham were abused by gangs of men - mainly of Pakistani heritage - between 1997 and 2013, Prof Alexis Jay concluded in a landmark report in 2014.
Three former South Yorkshire officers have been arrested on suspicion of historic sexual offences including attempted rape, indecent assault and misconduct in a public office while they were on duty. None have been charged.
Written accounts by grooming gang survivors collected by specialist child abuse lawyers allege years of abuse by serving police officers in Rotherham from the mid-1990s to early 2000s.
Most were girls in their teens at the time but some were as young as 11, according to the shocking report.
One reports hearing a police officer having sex with girls in exchange for drugs and money.
Another says she witnessed one supplying class A drugs to a grooming gang.
Three describe being beaten up by officers as children, including in a police cell.
One victim given the pseudonym Willow told the broadcaster she was sexually abused by hundreds of men over five years after first being targeted aged 11 - two of them police officers.
'He knew where we used to hang out, he would request either oral sex or rape us in the back of the police car,' she said.
'In a world where you were being abused so much, being raped once [each time] was a lot easier than multiple rapes and I think he knew that.'
According to Willow, after she was pressured into an illegal abortion by the grooming gang, a youth worker contacted social services and the police.
But she says one of the officers who had been abusing her turned up to interview her, leaving her 'destroyed', later ripping her statement up and throwing it in a bin.
According to the BBC she named PC Hassan Ali as having raped her.
Another victim, 'Emma', who was in care in the late 1990s, said she would be raped by a police officer in a squat.
'He knew we wouldn't be missed. He knew we wouldn't be reported. He knew we wouldn't be able to say anything,' she told the BBC.
Amy Clowrey from Switalskis, who has been collecting the testimony, said the accounts of police allegedly preying on grooming victims were 'beyond belief'.
'There has been no accountability in the town - and without accountability, there will continue to be a distrust of South Yorkshire Police,' she added.
Prof Jay today said she is 'shocked' that the force is investigating its own former officers.
She told the BBC there were 'legitimate' reasons for victims to feel 'a total lack of trust' in the force.
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