Rotherham child abuse victims accidentally kept out of court for rape sentence after ‘officer error’

GB News reveals that two Rotherham child abuse victims were accidentally spared from attending court to hear their rapist’s sentence.

The survivors were not brought to court for the sentencing of Neil King, 51, who was sentenced to 21 years in prison for 17 sex offences against a girl and her best friend.

King repeatedly raped one of the girls in his home and in his car, with the help of his then-girlfriend.

At one point, the girl was joined by her best friend, who was 13 or 14 at the time, and together they were abused by King.

Neil King was sentenced to 21 years in prison

CPS

The first victim escaped him when she moved, but King later tracked her down and raped her again.

He assaulted his victims and provided them with money, alcohol, drugs and gifts.

King was brought to court by the National Crime Agency after they identified the victims as part of Operation Stovewood, the agency’s ongoing investigation into historic child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

But after a 16-year wait for justice, both victims were accidentally left outside the courtroom when King was sentenced last Friday.

GB News understands that the judge will sit at Sheffield Crown Court today, six days after the verdict, to apologise directly to the victims for what happened last week and to pay tribute to them personally.

The NCA has apologised directly to both victims and they will both receive a written apology.

An NCA spokesman said it was a “police error” that the victims were unable to be in the room when the sentence was passed.

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GB News has learned that the judge has agreed to apologise directly to the victims for what happened last week today, six days after the verdict at Sheffield Crown Court.

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“As soon as we became aware of this, we contacted the court to see how the situation could be resolved. As a result, the judge agreed to an additional hearing at which they could be present.

“We apologize to the victims and pay tribute once again to their courage in coming forward and telling their stories. Their testimonies were vital in bringing King to justice for his horrific crimes.”

The ‘officer error’ comes two weeks after GB News revealed that another Rotherham survivor has had her victim impact statement censored by a judge after she called for some of her abusers to be deported.

The survivor, whose anonymity has been guaranteed throughout her life, made a powerful statement to her abusers at Sheffield Crown Court, but it later emerged that the judge had removed a section stating that her Pakistani abusers had been deported.

Child abuse campaigner Maggie Oliver said this latest scandal was another example of “victims not being put first” in the campaign for justice.

“I acknowledge that mistakes are made, but the magnitude of that mistake will stay with the two victims for the rest of their lives. I am not sure how that injustice can ever be righted now.

$\u200Crown Court of Sheffield$

The original sentencing took place at Sheffield Crown Court

“What it shows is a system that far too often overlooks victims in what many officials see as processes and procedures.”

Maggie, who heads the Maggie Oliver Foundation which campaigns for survivors of child sexual exploitation, added: “The human side of these issues is often an afterthought for the people responsible for those processes and procedures.

“That is what we should do here at the foundation, defend the rights of the victims. They should be number one in every consideration, but unfortunately that is not the case all too often.”

Maggie called for more safety measures to prevent this from happening again.

“The victim should be the priority in this case at least. Human error will always be a problem, but this simply cannot happen.

“These victims have waited 16 years. What should have been a celebration of their courage and perseverance has been overshadowed by the fact that they have been forgotten in the process.”