Alleged victims complain after police were diverted to deal with summer riots – New English Review

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

Two young women who claim they were repeatedly raped as part of an organised child sex abuse gang have filed a complaint with Humberside Police, and have been told that officers from their investigation have been redeployed to deal with cases surrounding the summer riots.

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

The investigation into the allegations was originally closed in 2021, but was reopened after a Sky News investigation uncovered evidence that appeared to have been overlooked by police.

After the investigation was submitted to an independent body for review, Humberside Police promised to take a fresh look at the matter.

That was two years ago, but at a meeting last month, Anna and Sarah were told that the officers were just getting started.

Adding to their frustration, they have been told that a number of officers have been taken off duty to deal with the riots and the investigation into a funeral home in Hull over the handling of bodies.

“It’s frustrating because what they’re investigating is clearly serious, but I do believe that the fact that men are raping and abusing young girls is more important than the riots,” says Anna.

“Why are they so concerned that a few people set fire to a bin in the middle of the city centre, but young girls are being raped and forced to do things that they should never, ever do,” Sarah adds. “It’s not like it stops with us. It continues with everyone else after us, after we leave the grooming gangs. It continues with the next generation of young girls that they find and it will never stop.”

In a letter to Humberside Police’s interim Chief Constable Judi Heaton, the two women said they felt their case “was not prioritised or taken very seriously. . . The case was reopened two years ago after the initial investigation was found to be inadequate. We therefore assumed that this error would be corrected with a full and thorough investigation a second time. That has not happened.”

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

Deputy Chief Constable Dave Marshall said: “Child abuse and exploitation is a deplorable and reprehensible crime. “I can give you the utmost assurance that, regardless of any other investigation or incident that takes place, Operation Conference remains a priority for Humberside Police. . . “

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

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