Rochdale child sex exploitation: Inquiry to begin
An inquiry into child sexual exploitation is to be held to assess improvements in protecting youngsters since the Rochdale grooming case.
Greater Manchester's Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd announced the inquiry would begin in the new year. Nine men from Rochdale and Oldham were jailed last year for running a child sexual exploitation ring. Rochdale's Labour MP Simon Danczuk said he suspected similar abuse was still going on in the town. Eight of the men jailed last year were of Pakistani origin and one was from Afghanistan. Mr Danczuk told BBC Radio 4's World at One some Asian communities were still "in denial about the issue". 'Needs to be done' Mr Lloyd said dozens of girls in Rochdale had been "let down" by the police and social services. The inquiry will be chaired by Stockport Labour MP Ann Coffey. She said: "The Rochdale case shocked the country and opened many people's eyes to the horrors of child sexual exploitation. "It is important to assess what progress has been made since then in safeguarding children in Greater Manchester and to see what more needs to be done in the future." The father of a girl who was a principal witness in the trial criticised the authorities for the way they dealt with the case. He said: "There were many, many more men involved, so when I'm out in Rochdale and walking round I can look at people and think 'did you rape my daughter?'."