National Crime Agency to investigate allegations police were involved in Rotherham abuse

Telegraph

13 hours ago

The National Crime Agency has taken over the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse by former South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officers.
Five grooming gang victims have come forward to claim that they were abused by police, including a victim who claimed she was raped from the age of 12 by a serving SYP officer.
The NCA's involvement came after pressure from lawyers and the author of a report into grooming gangs to distance the investigation from SYP.
Three retired officers have been arrested on suspicion of historical sex offences as part of a new criminal investigation into the involvement of police in the Rotherham grooming scandal.
The Jay report, published in 2014, found at least 1,4000 underage girls had been abused between 1997 and 2013 in the South Yorkshire town.
Prof Alexis Jay, the report's author, had previously called for investigations to be conducted by an independent police force rather than the SYP.
David Greenwood, of Switalskis Solicitors, which is representing the claimants, had also voiced concern that members of the force who knew those accused could be 'burying evidence or just not finding evidence deliberately'.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has now agreed to lead and continue the investigation started by the SYP's Major Crime Unit, following a request by the force to do so.
Victim survivors 'number one priority'
The investigation will be carried out by officers from Operation Stovewood, the NCA's enquiry into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse in Rotherham, under the direction of the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Asst Chief Const Hayley Barnett, SYP's gold commander for the operation, said the concerns around the force's involvement had proved too great a distraction.
She said: 'Ever since the initial launch of this incredibly sensitive investigation, the victim survivors have steadfastly remained our number one priority.
'Over many months, I have had conversations at the highest level with the IOPC and the NCA to ensure these courageous women truly remain at the heart of our work, and that the mode of investigation remains appropriate.
'Concerns around the mode of investigation have put the force, and not the victim survivors, at the centre of the narrative, and this fails to align with a truly victim-centred investigation.
'I am also mindful there is a chance that some victim survivors may be suffering in silence and unwilling to make a report as a result of SYP's involvement. It is for these reasons, and in mutual agreement with our partners, that I have asked the NCA to take ownership of this operational work.
'Today's force, including the officers and staff who have been directly involved in this investigation, are appalled by the nature of the allegations which have come to light.
'We have been determined to conduct this complex and extensive work on behalf of the victim survivors with professionalism, integrity and compassion, and this request is in no way a reflection of our confidence in our own abilities, nor those of our workforce, to deliver this.
'However, we are acutely aware that while our culture, our processes and our workforce here at SYP have transformed in the decades since the failings in Rotherham, the harm suffered by the victim survivors remains their reality every single day.
'Victim and wider public trust and confidence are treasured aspects of our policing service, and where past failings have prevented us from securing this, handing over the investigation is, simply, the right thing to do.'
Philip Marshall, head of Operation Stovewood, said: '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.'
Operation Stovewood was formed in 2014 after the NCA was formally asked by the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police to lead an independent investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse in Rotherham.
Its investigations have to date resulted in the conviction of 47 offenders who have so far received prison sentences totalling more than 1,300 years, including concurrent sentences.
One of the five alleged victims to come forward with allegations against SYP officers told the BBC she had been raped in the back of a marked car and told by the officer that she would be handed back to an Asian grooming gang if she spoke out.
She said: 'He knew where we used to hang out, he would request either oral sex or rape us in the back of the police car.
'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.'
The woman claims she was later forced to have an abortion at the age of 15, which prompted a social worker to contact the police.
But she said the officer who arrived to interview her was the man who had been abusing her and he tore up her statement in front of her.
The latest witness statements form part of a civil claim being brought against South Yorkshire Police in an attempt to secure compensation for the victims.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer bowed to pressure earlier this year and commissioned a national inquiry into the sexual exploitation of thousands of girls.
The Prime Minister's decision followed a 200-page report by Baroness Casey, which found that police and council leaders had sought to cover up the scale of Asian grooming gangs as they feared being called racist.