Six women who were sexually exploited by gangs say they were also abused by local police officers, as ITV News North of England Correspondent Rachel Townsend reports
A warning this report contains distressing details of sexual abuse against children
Lawyers representing the survivors of grooming gangs in Rotherham have called for an independent investigation into allegations of abuse by officers from South Yorkshire Police.
Six women, who were sexually exploited by gangs in Rotherham as children, claim they were also abused by local police officers.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed three former South Yorkshire police officers had been arrested and the investigation into these allegations was continuing.
One of the former officers arrested is aged in his sixties and the other two are in their fifties.
“The accounts we have heard, which we expect are only a fraction of the full scale of abuse, are utterly harrowing,” lawyer Amy Clowrey said.
She has been representing survivors of abuse in Rotherham for more than a decade.
Ms Cowley said that they hoped “the alleged abuse by police officers would be unearthed and that there would be accountability” following criminal proceedings against the gang members and a separate investigation.
“That never came,” she said in a statement.
“For years the authorities have resisted our requests for an investigation into the alleged criminality of police officers, despite us providing them with the accounts of survivors.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said South Yorkshire Police should carry out the investigation into the allegations against its officers and insisted there was no conflict of interest.
“This is a highly sensitive and complex investigation and we decided SYP would carry out the investigative enquiries given it has the specialist expertise and resources,” the IOPC said in a statement.
“We were assured by the force that none of the investigating officers had either worked with any of the former officers under investigation or were themselves investigated as part of Op Linden.
“We are satisfied that there is no conflict of interest, but as a matter of course, we keep these matters regularly under review during directed investigations.
“We want victim-survivors to feel confident that all complaints will be treated extremely seriously and sensitively.”
But Ms Cowley said survivors had “no faith” South Yorkshire Police would do a “thorough job” of the investigation.
“In addition, dealing with SYP is retraumatising for them, many of our clients refuse to report offences to SYP because they do not think they will be believed and because they were treated so badly in the past,” she said.
“This investigation must be handed over to an independent police force to ensure that survivors feel confident enough to come forward.”
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