Hull grooming gang: Alleged victims complain after police officers diverted to deal with summer riots

I have always prefered to call them complainants. We do not call the victims of shoplifting or burglary ‘alleged’ victims, even though the accused are innocent until proven guilty. Giving some credence to the truthfulness of a witness should not be only given to crimes of property. But I digress. From Sky News

Two young women who claim to have been repeatedly raped as part of an organised child sexual abuse ring have complained to Humberside Police after being told officers from their investigation have been diverted to deal with cases from the summer riots.

Anna and Sarah – not their real names – were teenagers when Sky News first interviewed them in the summer of 2021. Now young women, they are still waiting for justice and say sometimes, when in town, they still see the men who abused them as children.

The investigation into their allegations was originally wound down in 2021 but was reopened after a Sky News investigation revealed evidence the police seemed to have overlooked.

After submitting the investigation to be reviewed by an independent body, Humberside Police promised to put fresh eyes on the case.

That was two years ago but in a meeting last month, Anna and Sarah were told that officers were only just starting. . .

Adding to their frustration is that they’ve been told some officers have been taken off their case to deal with theriots as well as the investigation into a funeral parlour in Hull over the treatment of bodies.

“It’s frustrating because obviously it is serious what they’re looking into, but I do believe that men going around raping and abusing young girls is more important than the riots,” Anna says.

“Why are they so concerned that a couple of people have set a bin on fire in the middle of the town centre, but young girls are out there being raped and forced to do things that they should never, ever have to do,” adds Sarah. “It’s not like it ends with us. It carries on with all the other people after us, after we left the grooming gangs. It’s still going on with the next generation of young girls that they’ll find and it’s never going to stop.”

In a letter to the interim chief constable of Humberside Police Judi Heaton, the two women say they feel like their case “is neither a priority nor being taken very seriously. . . It was reopened two years ago after the initial investigation was found to be inadequate. We therefore assumed this error would be rectified with a full and thorough investigation second time around. This hasn’t happened.”

Anna says one of her abusers has since been convicted of raping a teenager. She says: “He’s been put in prison for that now. If they’d have listened when I first reported it, then that probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Deputy chief constable Dave Marshall said: “Child sexual abuse and exploitation is a deplorable and condemnable crime. “I can offer my utmost assurance that regardless of any other investigation or incident which occurs, Operation Conference remains a priority for Humberside Police. . . ”

The government also says combating violence against women and girls is a priority. For Anna and Sarah, it doesn’t feel like it.

Sarah says they both need to see an end point. “It’s been nearly six years, and we’ve stopped and started and stopped and started,” she says. “We are trying to move on with our lives, trying to better ourselves and this is just holding us back. .. ”