Outrage after judge blocks ‘grooming gang’ victim from asking for rapists’ deportation ━ The European Conservative

A rape gang survivor was prevented in court from having two of her abusers deported. Seven men from predominantly Pakistani backgrounds in Rotherham were convicted of crimes committed between April 2003 and April 2008.

As the case wrapped up in South Yorkshire, the unnamed woman read out her “victim impact statement,” legal documents that were not intended as evidence but to help the judge decide on a sentence. GB News, the only national broadcaster in the UK to cover the trial, saw an unedited version of the document in which a key section of her closing statement had been removed, under official duress.

Social commentator Matt Goodwin called the decision “outrageous.” Other media outlets seemed more concerned with the downfall of one of their own, BBC presenter Huw Edwards, who was convicted of “making” (i.e. sharing) images of child abuse.

The woman, who had been manipulated since she was 11, faced her seven abusers in court, who were sentenced to a total of 106 years in prison. Two of them were singled out in the original version of the victim impact statement:

I would like to request that after the conviction and release of Rudy (Mohammed Amar, 42) and Showabe (Mohammed Siyab, 49), they be deported back to Pakistan as this is where they came from and they came here to exploit children. Thank you.

The recommendation was withdrawn by order of a judge. Lawyer Matthew Bean, acting for the Crown Prosecution Service, said of the two abusers that “whether they remain in this country or not” was a matter for the Home Office, and that “the decision has to be made” regardless of what “the victim might say in any way”. A Home Office spokesman later added: “It would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be issued if a foreign national has been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to 12 months or more in prison.

Amar was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and sentenced to 14 years in prison, with two years suspended on extended licence. Siyab was convicted of two counts of rape, one count of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and one count of human trafficking. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with 12 months suspended on extended licence. Together with their five accomplices with similar backgrounds, they committed child sexual abuse and exploitation in South Yorkshire between 1997 and 2013, targeting girls often supposedly in the care of the local authority, including two victims aged just 11 and 15.

Following Operation Stovewood, the Sheffield Crown Court verdict brings to an end another investigation into ‘grooming gang’ crimes, which are increasingly being recognised – often decades too late – as a widespread criminal activity, not least in northern English towns and villages.

In the past, local and national governments have come under fire for their secrecy and obstruction surrounding the backgrounds of abusers. While authorities claim to be protecting good community relations, the issue of grooming gangs themselves is becoming increasingly toxic.

The sheer number of cases, characterised by whistleblower intimidation, defensive accusations of racism, disregard for working class girls and young women, Rochdale, Telford and successful lawsuits by victims (including against Rotherham itself), all point to a huge problem and a litany of failing public institutions.