JENNI MURRAY: Those paid to protect children must stop being scared of racism accusations and tell us what they know
Every time I encounter yet another horror story about the grooming gang scandal – and how the young rape victims were accused by police and social services of being prostitutes – my blood boils.
Child sexual exploitation is among the most heinous of crimes, but as a Yorkshire woman from a working-class background, it is harrowing reading about the grooming gangs in the towns near Barnsley where I grew up; personal, somehow.
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The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
Predator who drugged and raped 10 women facing ‘very long' jail term
A Chinese PhD student who could be one of the UK's worst sex offenders is due to be sentenced for drugging and raping 10 women in London and China. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the harrowing attacks involving two women who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced. He kept a trophy box of women's belongings and filmed nine of the attacks, with jurors in the case forced to watch the disturbing footage. At the end of his trial in March, Metropolitan Police detectives said they fear he could have targeted more than 50 more potential victims. More than 20 women contacted the force following publicity in the media around Zou's trial to say they think they may have been attacked by him. When he was convicted, Judge Rosina Cottage said he is a 'dangerous and predatory sexual offender' and warned him he faces a 'very long' jail term when he is sentenced on Thursday. After a month-long trial, Zou, who was most recently living in Elephant and Castle, south-east London, was found guilty of raping three women in London and another seven in China between September 2019 and May 2023. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim. Zou was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. Prosecutors said Zou appears to be 'a smart and charming young man' but is in fact 'a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist'. He comes from a wealthy family, and had enough money to afford a Rolex, a wardrobe full of designer clothes, and cosmetic procedures including a hair transplant and facial surgery, while paying thousands a month in rent living in London as an international engineering student. Police found hundreds of hours of disturbing videos and photos that he kept, around half of which are thought to have been filmed in the UK and half in China. Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China. The student first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen's University before heading to London in 2019 to do a master's degree and then a PhD at UCL. Investigators first charged Zou in January 2024, but waited for more than a year until he had been convicted before making public appeals for further victims to come forward. His crimes began to be uncovered in November 2023, when a woman went to police to allege that she had been attacked by Zou. There was not enough evidence to bring a criminal charge over her claim, but when Zou's phone was seized officers found disturbing videos of him raping unconscious women, and pipettes and sedating drugs in his flat. One of the two victims who has been identified by police told the jury she was raped after Zou pushed her to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and would not let her leave his flat in Elephant and Castle in May 2023. The second, who is now living in China, said she was also raped by Zou, in his student flat near Russell Square in October 2021, when she was unconscious. The case has chilling parallels with Reynhard Sinaga, 41, who was jailed for life in January 2020 at Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of 159 counts of sexual offences against 48 different men. He also befriended his victims and invited them back to his flat, before drugging and sexually assaulting them. There was also the case of serial killer Stephen Port, who received a whole life term after raping and murdering four men with overdoses of the sedative drug GHB, and drugging and sexually assaulting seven others who survived. UK detectives have said the Chinese authorities were 'responsive and helpful' over the investigation into Zou, although no properties where he lived in China have been searched even though many of his crimes took place on Chinese soil. After Zou's trial they began discussions with China about whether social media appeals to potential victims could be made on WeChat and Little Red Book, which are more commonly used in the country. Zou was convicted of rapes that he committed in China in a UK court because foreign nationals living in Britain can be convicted of crimes committed abroad if the act is an offence in both countries.
BBC News
37 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bomere Heath homeowners fear their gardens will be bulldozed
A group of neighbours have said builders developing the field behind their homes are threatening to pull down their fences and take up to a third of their of Percy Thrower Avenue in Bomere Heath in Shropshire received a letter from the company, stating they had illegally encroached on land that did not belong to Alex Titley said Land Registry documents showed that was not true and that they would call the police if their properties were damaged.A spokesperson for the landowner, Housing Plus Group, said it would "work with all parties to reach an amicable and fair resolution". The letter from Housing Plus's contractors, J. Harper and Sons of Leominster, was dated 21 May, and gave the homeowners 28 days to remove their own belongings "before taking action to remove the encroachment".It warned no responsibility would be taken for the condition of materials removed, and concluded "there is no legal duty on the landowner to reinstate" the fence on the new line. 'Sanctuary' Mrs Titley said the landowner wanted to take 2.5m off her 8m garden. If this happened, she said she would lose two trees and have to move her shed, pots and garden ornaments after nearly 20 years living on the close."It's my sanctuary", she said, her "peaceful place" at a time when she had been struggling with her daughter's health. She said: "The anxiety this has caused is unbelievable. To think these people think they can just wade in and demand a quarter of it when it is inside our registered boundary is absurd." Neighbour Jonathan Kessel-Fell said: "We have been looking after the boundary, which is on their deeds, for 20 years."We're all in really busy jobs and our gardens are our sanctuary." He said the fences were due to be taken down any time from Wednesday - 28 days since the letters were sent - but he had been told by the developer that this would not happen while the legal dispute was going on."We're not against the houses being built, we just want a conversation with the construction company and the landowner." 'Completely mistaken' Solicitors Lanyon Bowdler, acting for the residents, said legal documents demonstrated the landowner's view that the boundary was inaccurate was "completely mistaken". "The boundary fences have been there for 20 years. They are in the right place and even if they were not in 2004, over time they have become the boundary," the company wrote.A Housing Plus Group spokesperson said: "We are aware of the concerns raised by residents on Percy Thrower Avenue regarding the ongoing land issue. "We understand that this situation has caused uncertainty, we will work with all parties to reach an amicable and fair resolution." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
40 minutes ago
- BBC News
Child abuse victim sues West Mercia Police after identity breach
A woman who was sexually abused as a child is suing a police force after an officer revealed her identity to a member of the public. Heidi Clutterbuck told West Mercia Police in the 1990s her brother, Jimmy Guthrie, had abused her from the ages of six to 10. As a survivor of sexual abuse, she has the legal right to lifelong anonymity but the force has now admitted an officer revealed her name to someone who went on to contact her."It should have been my choice to reveal I was a victim – they took that from me," Ms Clutterbuck said. 'I was petrified' West Mercia Police said the force was unable to comment due to the ongoing legal proceedings. Ms Clutterbuck, aged 53 and of Worcestershire, was among a number of women who reported Mr Guthrie to separate police forces more than 30 years ago. No action was taken and their alleged abuser died in 2012. Two years later, Ms Clutterbuck and her family were receiving police protection due to threats against them when she began receiving messages from people who said they knew she had reported her brother and she was a victim. "I was petrified and scared for the safety of myself and my family who I believed were placed in danger because my name had been revealed," she told the BBC."We had CCTV cameras and a security alarm fitted and new locks put on our doors and windows." West Mercia Police ended their investigation into her reported abuse in 2016, stating there was no prospect of a conviction following Mr Guthrie's death. At the time, the force denied breaking the law by revealing her identity, but Ms Clutterbuck was determined to keep fighting. The married mother of five said: "I felt robbed of the choice of whether I wanted to let people know that I was a victim and the choice of who to share that with. "To be denied that right was just appalling but I wouldn't have taken legal action if the force had apologised."In 2017, an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation said there was sufficient evidence for the case to be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service if Jimmy Guthrie had still been alive. Ms Clutterbuck started legal action against West Mercia Police in 2018 and last month, after seven years, the force admitted "negligently breaching the anonymity of an alleged victim of child sexual abuse".Her case for damages is due to be heard in the High Court next year. In court papers seen by the BBC, West Mercia Police states her claim is diminished as she took part in the government's Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and has spoken out Ms Clutterbuck said: "I now want to be seen and heard - I can use my voice and awful experiences for some good," she said."I will not listen to people who want to shame me and I feel I have no choice but to take legal action." 'Enshrined in legislation' Her lawyer is Maria Mulla, who is also working with victims of the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed. "The decision to disclose or not is a colossal one for survivors of sexual abuse and in particular child sexual abuse," she said. "West Mercia Police stole Heidi's lifetime right to absolute anonymity, a right that is enshrined in legislation."West Mercia Police said the force was unable to provide any more information as "this could prejudice a live complaint which is currently being reviewed".Ms Clutterbuck said she had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on her legal case. "I would like some justice for their mistake because it was impactful for me and my family," she said."It's been a long journey which was so unnecessary." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
