Telford child sexual exploitation scandal

The Telford child sexual exploitation scandal is an ongoing scandal spanning over several decades in the United Kingdom involving a group of Pakistani men who were convicted of engaging in sexual contact with local female minors between 2007 and 2009 in Telford in the English county of Shropshire.[1][2][3] While media reports had suggested there were 100 or more victims[4] and around 200 suspects,[5] the Sunday Mirror reported in March 2018 that up to 1,000 may have been affected, with some even murdered, in incidents dating back to the 1970s.[6] Social workers and police cast doubt on this report, denying that Telford had a "discernible problem compared to other towns".

However, according to the Home Office, as of 2015, Telford had the highest rate of minor exploitation cases of any town or city in the United Kingdom. The report also revealed that many of them were reported to the council but were ignored. [7] Telford has a population of just under 170,000 people.[8]

A report from a three-year inquiry into the scandal was released in July 2022. It revealed that more than 1,000 girls had been abused over a 40 year period, and that agencies blamed them for the abuse they suffered, not the perpetrators, and some cases were not investigated because of "nervousness about race". The report made 47 recommendations for improvement by agencies involved. West Mercia Police apologized "unequivocally" for past events as well as Telford and Wrekin Council. Victims were often blamed with excuses that they were "willingly prostituting themselves" and perpetrators were emboldened by the lack of police action.[9][10]

  1. ^ Bird, Steve (9 December 2017). "Grooming gangs of Muslim men failed to integrate into British society". The Daily Telegraph.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference barnes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Burden, Elizabeth (11 December 2017). "Grooming gang study reveals 84% are Pakistani muslim". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBCsentencing was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ShropshireStar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference mirror was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Bulman, May (4 September 2016). "Town council accused of 'whitewashing' its own investigation into child sex abuse". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Population characteristics". Telford and Wreckin Council Website. Telford and Wrekin is home to some 169,400 people living in 73,400 households. June 2016. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Telford child sex abuse went on for generations, inquiry finds". BBC. 12 July 2022.
  10. ^ Murray, Jessica (12 July 2022). "Over 1,000 children in Telford were sexually exploited, inquiry finds". The Guardian.