Latest news with #EmilyBarry
The Sun
08-08-2025
- The Sun
National Crime Agency taking over probe into child sexual abuse claims against Rotherham police officers
THE National Crime Agency is taking over an investigation into claims that police in Rotherham sexually abused children. Last month, survivors of sexual exploitation there said they had 'no faith' in South Yorkshire Police investigating its own former officers. 3 3 So far, three have been arrested over the allegations. According to reports by the BBC, one girl of 12 was raped in a patrol car. The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it was satisfied the investigation would have caused no conflict of interest for the force. But it added: 'Transferring the investigation to the NCA may provide further reassurance to victim- survivors'. IOPC director Emily Barry added: '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.' Lawyers representing survivors welcomed the move as a 'step in the right direction'. But they said their clients remained concerned over the continued involvement of the IOPC, which will oversee the investigation. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said it would be 'completely inappropriate' for South Yorkshire Police to continue investigating itself. He said: 'It is right that the National Crime Agency are taking over this case. It would be completely inappropriate for the same force accused of abuse to now be investigating itself. 'That is why I wrote the Home Secretary to make sure any investigation into South Yorkshire police was independent. 3 Rotherham paedo gang victim claims 'authorities made me feel like a racist when I reported attacks 14 YEARS ago'
Daily Mail
08-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Britain's FBI takes over probe into police officers accused of historic sex abuse of Rotherham girls
An investigation into allegations police officers took part in historical sexual abuse in Rotherham is to be taken over by the National Crime Agency (NCA) - Britain's equivalent to the FBI. 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.
ITV News
08-08-2025
- ITV News
National Crime Agency to investigate claims South Yorkshire Police involved in Rotherham abuse
An investigation into allegations police officers took part in historical sexual abuse in Rotherham is to be taken over by the National Crime Agency. Last month, survivors of sexual exploitation in the town said they had "no faith" in the South Yorkshire Police investigation into its former officers in relation to a number of allegations. Three former police officers have so far been arrested. The Police watchdog, Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), confirmed it will now be carried out by the NCA. However, 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 the force to ask the NCA to take over and that it remains satisfied there was no conflict of interest. The law firm Switalskis, which represents survivors of abuse in Rotherham, welcomed the move as a "step in the right direction" but said their clients remained concerned over the continued involvement of the IOPC. 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, 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. Last month, victims' lawyers 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. They said South Yorkshire Police "resisted" their requests. "For years South Yorkshire Police resisted our requests for an investigation into the alleged criminality of police officers, despite us providing them with the accounts of survivors." In 2022, Operation Linden concluded that the force fundamentally failed in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people during the period under investigation. IOPC director Emily Barry said she wants to make sure people feel able to come forward with complaints. "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." The NCA said the investigation will be carried out by officers from Operation Stovewood - the agency's extensive decade-long investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. It has identified more than 1,100 children involved in the exploitation in Rotherham, resulting in the conviction of 47 offenders who have so far received prison sentences totalling more than 1,300 years, including concurrent sentences. Philip Marshall, head of Operation Stovewood, said victims will remain at the heart of the investigation. "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." South Yorkshire Police says the force is mindful that some victim survivors may be suffering in silence and unwilling to make a report. Assistant Chief Constable, Hayley Barnett, said: "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. '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."
BBC News
02-04-2025
- BBC News
Third Rotherham ex-police officer arrested over child sex abuse
A former South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officer has been arrested on suspicion of raping a teenage girl in Rotherham in 2004. The former police constable, aged in his 50s, was held on Monday as part of an investigation into historical child exploitation and abuse by SYP is the third retired officer to be arrested, after six women made complaints about historical child exploitation and abuse. The former officer was questioned and released on bail. The investigation is being run by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).Monday's arrest follows the arrest of two former SYP officers - also based in Rotherham - late last year, on suspicion of sexual offences and misconduct in public office. It is claimed the alleged abuse took place when the officers were both on and off duty, between 1995 and 2002. 'File of evidence' The investigation is being carried out by SYP's major crime unit, under the direction of the began after the South Yorkshire force referred a complaint to the IOPC in October 2024. This was followed by complaints from a second woman in November last year, and further complaints from two other women in late January 2025, a fifth person made a week saw a sixth complaint which led to the retired officer's arrest on Director Emily Barry said: "We are now investigating serious complaints by six women of sexual offending by former SYP officers."These complaints are being handled sensitively and thoroughly investigated, and a third former officer has now been arrested."At the end of the investigation we will decide whether a file of evidence will be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider criminal charges." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
The Guardian
02-04-2025
- The Guardian
Third ex-police officer arrested in Rotherham child sexual exploitation inquiry
A third former South Yorkshire police officer has been arrested as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. The ex-constable, aged in his 50s, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of raping a teenage girl in the town in 2004. It follows the arrests of two former South Yorkshire police officers late last year on suspicion of sexual offences and misconduct in public office. It is alleged their offending took place when the officers, who were both based in Rotherham, were both on and off duty between 1995 and 2002. The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) said it was investigating complaints from six women of sexual offending by former South Yorkshire police officers. The IOPC engagement director, Emily Barry, said: 'These complaints are being handled sensitively and thoroughly investigated and a third former officer has now been arrested. 'At the end of the investigation we will decide whether a file of evidence will be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider criminal charges.' The investigation is being carried out by South Yorkshire police's major crime unit under the control of the IOPC. The police watchdog said it launched the investigation in October 2024 after a complaint referred by the force. The IOPC said this was followed by more complaints from a second woman in November and complaints from two further women in December. The watchdog said the arrest this week related to a sixth complainant, who was referred by South Yorkshire police last week. The IOPC investigation is separate to the National Crime Agency's (NCA) Operation Stovewood into Rotherham, which it describes as the biggest investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation in the UK. The NCA previously said it had identified about 1,150 potential victims, and that more than 220 people had been arrested or attended a police station voluntarily. Of those, 39 had been convicted.
