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The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
My girl, 12, was groomed & raped by 50 Asian men for 6 years…they'd climb through her bedroom window but cops blamed HER
'DO you know how old she is?!' Louise Hopwood could barely contain her anger when an older Asian male called her mobile and asked for her 12-year-old daughter. 9 9 Shocked, she told the man she would call the police if he ever contacted her or her daughter Jamie Leigh Jones again. Little did she know that one ominous phone call would be the start of an unrelenting nightmare, where Jamie – now 28 - would spend the next six years of her life being groomed, drugged, raped and passed around over 50 older Asian men in Oldham, Greater Manchester. OMINOUS PHONE CALL Police and social services would let the family down at every turn – despite Jamie being the most reported missing child the area had ever seen. And mum-of-four Louise, now 48, would have to watch; heartbroken and helpless as her daughter was taken off her and put into care, where the abuse worsened and a never-ending stream of rapists from the town's Pakistani, Bengali and Kurdish communities, were given easy access to sex traffic the then teen around the North. Men would climb into her bedroom window in care homes while staff would turn a blind eye or even drop her off to meet abusers and buy her a McDonald's to 'keep quiet'. Police found Jamie being raped but put her in handcuffs, labelled her a prostitute and even circulated her mugshot as a young teen calling her a 'yob'. LABELLED A 'YOB' 'It was like they took a piece of my heart away when they took Jamie into care,' tearful Louise told The Sun. 'I knew she wasn't safe but I couldn't do anything to stop it. I'd see cars picking her up - I'd call the police, I'd call social services - but it was like shouting into a void.' Jamie's grooming hell began when her family moved to Oldham for a new start and she was placed in a PRU school due to poor attendance issues. An older girl at the school befriended her, promising to 'look after her' and introduced her to an older Asian male, who showered Jamie with gifts – money, cigarettes and alcohol. 'She came round to my house with Jamie and she said 'Don't worry I'll look after her,'' Louise said. ALONE & VULNERABLE 'I did think, 'Why does a 15 year old want to hang around with a 12 year old?' but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. 'I let her go out with her because I wanted to meet new friends, we were new to the area and she didn't know anybody. 'Looking back, I think the girl had been told to recruit a younger girl. The sick fact is the girls stop being desirable to these men when they reach 15/16 - they want them younger. 'Jamie didn't have any friends and I think that made her vulnerable.' 9 9 9 Not long after Jamie's first meeting with the man who would go on to groom and rape her, Louise received the brazen phone call. 'I was kind of panicked, I was just so shocked,' she said. 'I answered the phone and it was an older Asian man asking for my daughter and I said, 'You sound like a fully grown man, what are you ringing my daughter for? Do you know how old she is? She's 12. 'And I threatened him, I said if he rings us again, I will phone the police. I never got a phone call from him again after that.' What Louise didn't know at the time is that the calculated groomer immediately bought Jamie her own mobile phone, and told her chillingly 'Don't show your mum.' CYCLE OF ABUSE Jamie, who bravely waived her anonymity and told her story for the first time here, says she was soon sucked into a harrowing cycle of abuse, where she was plied with booze and drugs and raped for the first time a few weeks later, age 12 in her abuser's car. From then, Jamie would go missing almost every day – failing to return from school and coming back in the early hours after being used and abused by the gangs. 'It became nearly a daily occurrence where she'd go to school and not come back," Louise said. 'Social services were involved at that time because she was refusing to go to school, so I couldn't keep her off. 'They were paying for a taxi to take her to and from school but she'd never come home. 'I'd ring them and tell them she hadn't come back, and they'd say, 'Well if she's not back by the last bus, report her as missing'. 'I would wait until the last bus at 10.45pm then report her missing. 'Every day I reported her missing. The police would come round, do the same rigmarole, looking around my house, asking for a description of Jamie, any distinguishing marks, I'd go through it all again and again. It felt out of my control. I tried everything. Social services said at one point she [Jamie] was the most reported missing girl in Oldham Louise Hopwood, Jamie's mum 'And then they'd go away and do nothing. 'I'd just had a young baby, so I couldn't leave the house, I would just sit and worry.' Louise said she tried everything to keep Jamie safe and begged social services and police for help, but they would tell her just to put her 'foot down' or that Jamie was making the "wrong lifestyle choices". 'Sometimes Jamie would run out the house, I'd try to stop her, I'd follow her to the top step and I could see the car park and they [the groomers] were picking her up at the car park," she said. 'Straight away, I'd phone up the police, give the make and model and registration of the car and I naively think that she'd be home within an hour. 'No, she'd come home at four o'clock in the morning, five o'clock in the morning, drunk, drugged up. 'It was hard. I'd have to make sure that she was okay, that she was sleeping on her side, that she's wasn't sick in her sleep. 'And then the same thing happened again and again and again. NOWHERE TO TURN 'I'd lock the windows. I'd take her phone off her. I'd have the keys to the front door hidden under my pillow. 'At the time, I didn't know about grooming gangs, I just knew something wasn't right with these older men wanting to be with my daughter. 'I used to talk to Jamie's friends so I started to realise what was going on. Eventually I found out she had been raped and I tried to get help. I went to the police, I went to social services. 'It felt out of my control. I tried everything. 'Social services said at one point she was the most reported missing girl in Oldham.' Harrowingly, Louise believes she has blocked out some of the details of her daughter's abuse from her mind, as she struggled to come to grips with it. 'I know Jamie was gang raped, because we've talked about it over the years,' Louise said. 'And it's in her police and social services files that I reported it. 'But I can't remember her telling me that she'd been gang raped, and I can't remember reporting it. 'I honestly think I blocked it out of my mind because it's something that a parent can't deal with. I can't face it.' 9 9 Jamie was sent to live with another family member – against Louise's wishes – and began getting in trouble with the police. One time Jamie remembers how she was given a new phone and the next day received calls from over 50 Asian men, all begging her to meet up with them and have sex. In one shocking episode, from when she was 14, police found her being raped by an illegal immigrant in an industrial estate but put her in handcuffs and arrested her for prostitution. NAMED AND SHAMED Then when Jamie was 14, Greater Manchester Police blasted a mugshot of her in local and national media after she was given an ASBO, despite knowing she was a vulnerable child who had reported rapes. A quote from a police chief at the time that ran alongside Jamie's name and photo said 'teen yobs would be driven from' the town centre. Louise said she was "fuming" when she saw it – and the publicity it generated made already at-risk Jamie even more unsafe. 'They put her face in the newspapers and on TV knowing she was at high risk of exploitation and high risk of death,' Louise said. 'They called her a 'dirty diva'. I was fuming. It wasn't safe for Jamie. 'I felt frightened for her because the comments I was reading were absolutely horrendous. People wanted to string her up. 'People were stopping and shouting at her in the street. "I believe police did that because she was making complaints that she was being groomed. 'I think they wanted to take her voice away, discredit her and discredit me. 'So now she's been criminalised, she hasn't got a voice anymore, she can't speak. 'They do it to whistleblowers, they take their voice away by calling them racists. 'They had no reason to put her face everywhere. There were loads of kids getting ASBOS, why did they pick her. 'It was absolutely disgusting.' PLACED IN CARE A judge ordered Jamie to be placed in a young offender's facility for her own safety, and after this she was taken to a series of three care homes in Oldham, where the abuse from the grooming gangs worsened. Jamie was told she wasn't allowed to visit her mother's home because it would place her little brother at risk, even though both Jamie and her mum say she was always a loving sister and would never harm him. 'I disagreed with Jamie being taken from me,' Louise said. 'I wanted her to live with me so I knew it was going on, so I could try and keep on top of what was happening. 'She did better at my house even though she was still going missing. 'But after she was taken from me, things got worse. It was basically easier access for the grooming gangs. 'NO CONTROL' 'They were driving outside the care homes and picking girls up, waiting for girls to walk from the care homes and pulling them over, offering them drink, offering them money, drugs, everything. 'I just felt I'd lost everything, I had no control. 'I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know if she was missing. I was constantly worried and on edge all the time because I didn't know if she was safe. 'I used to close my eyes at night time and I used to have visions of Jamie dead and lying in a gutter. And I can still see that now, it haunts me. 'I would visit her at the care home and social workers told me to back off. 'They said the work that they were trying to do with her, I was spoiling it and I need to back off. 'But I kept going. I used to ring the homes up to see if she was back home on a night and if she wasn't back I'd report her missing.' 'NOWHERE TO TURN' Jamie, now firmly in the grips of the evil grooming gangs, said she felt utterly alone in the world when she was put into care. 'They took everything away from me and that caused me a lot of pain,' she said. 'I had nowhere to turn, no-one. They made sure that I had nowhere to turn.' Between 2011 and 2015, Jamie and her mum had reported four rapes to Greater Manchester Police, but no action was taken against any of the perpetrators. Jamie says she eventually lost all trust in authorities and stopped reporting anything. FIGHT FOR JUSTICE Louise carried on gathering what information she could and passing to police in the hope they would take action. She gave them the login to Jamie's Facebook page, full of messages from sick predators – as well as passing on information she learnt from Jamie's friends. In recent years, both Jamie and her mother have given evidence to Operation Sherwood, a GMP investigation into cases of historic child sexual exploitation in Oldham, and so far this year 12 men have been arrested in connection with the probe. However no men were arrested at the time of the offences against Jamie. 'I haven't got a clue why it's taken so long for arrests,' she said. 'I gave them enough information to arrest at the time but it was ignored. It's 15 years too late. How much evidence has been lost? 'They left it open for more girls to be abused and that's unforgivable.' Louise and Jamie said the grooming and way they were treated by authorities has taken a huge toll on their family and relationships. 'FAILED BY SERVICES' Recently they've painstakingly gone through copies of Jamie's social services file, in an emotional bid to try and piece together what happened and figure out what went wrong. 'We've been failed by services,' Louise said. 'It's affected all our family relationships. Her older brother felt helpless, every lad who has younger sister always want to make sure they're safe. So he feels he couldn't protect her or he let her down. He's struggling. 'It's took a toll on my and Jamie's relationship, we've had our ups and downs, she has blamed me for things, it's been rocky. 'It's awful for the survivor of course, but it's bad for everyone around them too 'We've been through all the reports from social services together. It was hard and it made us both angry. 'I went to every meeting without fail and the one meeting I didn't go to, and they put block capital letters that I didn't turn up because I was waiting for a TV repair. Making out I put the TV priority over my daughter. 'I've been to all these meetings. I was at the care home all the time. I listened to everything that they were saying. I did everything they said and it never helped. Authorities respond Greater Manchester Police said: 'We have fully accepted our past failings in tackling this horrific abuse and are working with a number of survivors, who have placed their faith in the GMP of today and are supporting our active retrospective investigations. 'These are long and complex investigations, but our commitment is unwavering, and we will not allow passage of time to be a hindrance. 'HMICFRS and Ofsted published a report last week highlighting significant improvements we have made in how we protect children, respond to abuse, and investigate non-recent cases of CSE. 'GMP remains focused on listening to survivors and advancing our effective practice still further. We owe it both to those abused in the past and to our children today to sustain this most pressing of priorities, and we continue to give our commitment to do just that. 'We are actively investigating and supporting Jamie as we progress her case. While we understand that the impact of her past experience cannot be undone, we are confident that victims' experiences today would be significantly improved compared to those of previous years." Oldham Council said: "I want to commend Jamie Leigh for her extraordinary courage in speaking out and sharing her story. Her bravery is not only deeply moving but plays a vital role in ensuring that survivors are heard, and that real change continues to happen. "Across the country, councils, the police, and other agencies failed those affected by child sexual exploitation in the past. Oldham was no exception and we apologise again to survivors and their families. "We also recognise that these horrific crimes have not disappeared, but we are more determined than ever to root out those who abuse and exploit children. We will not rest until every child is safe and those responsible are held fully to account. "Oldham is absolutely committed to learning from the past. Thanks in no small part to the tenacity of survivors like Jamie Leigh, we are leading the way in tackling child sexual exploitation, putting survivors at the heart of our efforts, and doing everything in our power to ensure the mistakes of the past are never repeated. "We welcome both local and national inquiries, and we are clear that survivors must be at the centre of this process. Their voices are essential to building a safer future for every child." "I never stopped fighting yet I feel like I constantly have to defend myself. 'It's hard to admit but I do feel like a bad mum. I carry a lot of guilt. But I did the best I could. 'I think if I had the right support, Jamie would have been better off with me, in my home. 'I'm not saying I was a perfect mum, but I have always been a loving mother and when they took Jamie away from me she had no one. 'And they took her to an even worse situation where the groomers had free reign.' Louise believes that the police officers who failed Jamie should be prosecuted and there should mandatory training for all officers on how to deal with child sexual exploitation. BROKEN SYSTEM 'Yes they should be prosecuted because they shouldn't treat anybody like that,' she said. 'They see a child being raped and then say she's a prostitute? It's wrong. 'There needs to be some sort of public consequence so that these people in the services know that they can't get away with it in the future.' While Jamie was in care, Louise tried to set up a parent's group for other families who had been affected by grooming, backed by police – but no one turned up. She believes that police who had promised to advertise the event never did, although she has no proof of this. But she's now committed to helping parents of sexual abuse survivors past and present and has set up a group in Oldham called Parents Matter. Mum's heartbreaking poem Deperate Louise wrote this poem to try and put her anger and frustration into words and let other parents know they're not alone: Why let these groomers, Near our kids, You should believe the child, Not the perpetrators fibs. Night after night, My heads in tatters, Is my girl safe, That's all matters Day after day, No education, Not home from school, Want her home the desperation. Send her out in the morning, To school she goes, Knowing she won't be back, The anxiety shows. Reporting her missing, Nothing is done, Ringing the police, The groomers carry on. Early hours in morning, My girl returns, Been drugged and used, So much hurt it burns. At least she's alive, Even though she's been through hell, Socail services ain't helping, She's becoming a shell. Im desperate for help, Nothings being done, Please someone help, My little one. I close my eyes, The visions I see, Is my girl dead in a gutter, Oh God the anxiety. Please help my girl, I'm begging you, She's not to blame, You know it too. Not a wink of sleep Weeks go by My girl still goes missing Still no help WHY? Now months go by, Its still going on, Your turning a blind eye, My girl you put the blaime on. Now years of this, She's now in care, She still going missing, This isn't fair. Now she's an adult, All the trauma she's had, Trying help her stay strong, Mums here in good and bad. My girl my warrior, I'm so proud of her She also has a list of recommendations she wants to make to those in power to stop grooming – which she believes is still happening in our communities – in its tracks. 'I've spoken to police officers, schools and asked them what can be done to stop this," she said. 'There's people in suits who think they know it all, putting things in place, but they're doing it wrong. They've not lived it like us, and they should listen to us. 'Just things like they would organise meetings for Jamie to discuss the grooming at 9am in the morning. 'She'd been out all night, being abused, drugged, filled with alcohol til 4 or 5am and then she wouldn't turn up to the appointment. 'Then the services would turn around and say 'Oh, look, she doesn't want to work with us' and they'd give up.' Louise said she supports the National Inquiry, announced by PM Keir Starmer in June, 'if they do it properly' but she worries that some girls are still reluctant to speak up because they are afraid of prosecutions if they recruited other girls – or even having their kids taken away if they disclose their vulnerable mental health. Louise and Jamie say they still have a lot of anger towards the perpetrators and the services that failed them but have decided to turn their anger at the situation into a positive by helping other parents and survivors. 'I just want to help other parents and help put a stop to this.' Louise said. 'I don't want other parents or children to go through what I went through or what Jamie went through. We can't change the past but we make changes now and improve a broken system.' Police and social services both accepted their failings in relation to Jamie's case in statements to The Sun. Greater Manchester Police said it had "fully accepted our past failings in tackling this horrific abuse" and it was "actively investigating" the case. Oldham Council added: "Oldham is absolutely committed to learning from the past. Thanks in no small part to the tenacity of survivors like Jamie-Leigh, we are leading the way in tackling child sexual exploitation, putting survivors at the heart of our efforts, and doing everything in our power to ensure the mistakes of the past are never repeated."
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
He said he was ‘doing a favour' for a friend, it landed him in court
A man said he was 'doing a favour' for a friend after he was caught driving with false registration plates. Frank Crompton, 32, was pulled over by police in Oldham after concerns over his manner of driving. Checks revealed his car registration plates were associated with a completely different car. He later claimed to a probation officer that he was 'doing a favour for a friend'. READ MORE: 'Bubbly' boy who died in M60 tragedy named as tributes paid READ MORE: Bus that crashed into bridge was not on 'usual route', Transport for Greater Manchester confirms Crompton, of Oldham, pleaded guilty to forging a registration mark and using a motor vehicle with no insurance, and was handed a hefty fine. Sign up to the MEN Court newsletter here Prosecuting, Sam Eskdale said that at around 11.30am on March 8 last year officers were on patrol in Oldham when they spotted a silver Vauxhall Meriva being driven in such a way that officers felt they had to turn their emergency lights on. As the car pulled to a stop on Equitable Street, two of the passengers fled, as driver Frank Crompton walked in the opposite direction. 'A PNC (police national computer) check revealed the registration plates were recorded as a red Ford Fiesta - essentially the defendant was driving on false plates,' said Mr Eskdale. 'Officers also found an axe in the vehicle. He was arrested for forging the registration mark and for driving with no insurance.' Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Crompton had 11 previous convictions for 18 offences including for driving matters. Milena Bennett, defending, said: 'He told the probation officer he was doing a favour for a friend. At the time he did not consider the consequences of his actions. 'He is extremely sorry and he accepts his actions were stupid.' She added that he has since 'distanced himself from associates'. Fining him a total of £425, Recorder Carwyn Cox said: 'On March 8 last year, officers were on duty in Oldham when a car was pursued due to the manner of its driving. Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp group HERE 'The passengers left the scene and you walked in the opposite direction. Checks were made and it was clear the registered car was a red Ford Fiesta. It became clear these were forged registration plates.' Crompton, of Henshaw Street, Oldham, was ordered to pay off the fine at a rate of £40 per month. He was also handed eight points on his driving licence.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
United held to goalless draw by Mellon's Oldham
Dundee United ended their pre-season preparations with a goalless draw against English League Two side loan signings Max Watters and Ivan Dolcek were handed debuts off the bench at Tannadice, but the new faces could not inspire the hosts to victory against the fourth-tier visitors, who are managed by ex-United boss Micky competitive action starts on Thursday for Jim Goodwin's men, who welcome UNA Strassen of Luxembourg in the first leg of their Conference League second-round qualifier.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Fleetwood sign experienced striker Norwood
Fleetwood Town have signed experienced striker James Norwood on a one-year deal after a successful 34-year-old was a free agent, having left Oldham at the end of the season after scoring 26 goals in 65 National League appearances for the has previously had spells with Forest Green, Tranmere, Ipswich Town and could make his competitive debut for the Cod Army in the League Two season-opener at Barnet on Saturday, 2 August.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Torquay United sign Oldham midfielder Worthington
Torquay United have signed Oldham Athletic midfielder Matt Worthington on a three-year deal. The Gulls have not disclosed if they have paid any fee for the 27-year-old, who was still under contract at the Latics. Worthington played more than 175 games for Yeovil Town and was part of the side that won the National League South title in 2024. He moved to Oldham in January and played nine times for them in the National League last season. "Worthy is a player that I've been trying to get into the club for quite a while now," Torquay United manager Paul Wotton told the club website. "He's played at a higher level for the vast majority of his career and he's won this league before. He fits exactly what we're looking for." Related internet links Torquay United
