The #TheyKnew campaign is seeking funding to investigate and bring legal action against those who failed to act in the face of widespread child sexual abuse and exploitation across the UK.
The money raised will be used to gather and review evidence to establish where the most substantial evidence to allow a private prosecution lies. They will also consider civil claims, judicial reviews and other legal actions where appropriate. Where private prosecutions are applicable, this would effectively see them pursue individuals or public bodies for their failings. If they secure a conviction, the same sentencing options would apply as they do in public prosecutions brought by the CPS following a police investigation, including fines and custodial sentences.
I remember reading Maggie Oliver’s story over a decade ago, and I included the demise of various grooming gang members in a book in my Phoenix Series. Of course, this was fiction, and violence and vigilante justice are not the answer. I believe the best way to expose the truth that those in authority have tried to hide for so long is to support this cause and get justice for the victims.
They knew and, one day, they should answer.
Over two years ago, Tanya Norris ran away from her family home in Oxford. Tanya was fifteen. She stayed with a school friend and then drifted from town to town, seeking temporary work. Instead, she ended up homeless on the streets in Swindon. Tanya was vulnerable. A sadistic gang that manipulated and controlled a crop of underage girls in the sprawling Wiltshire town had groomed her and sold her for sex in a few weeks.
Tanya’s mother had reported her missing, but the police had few resources available to find a delinquent teenager. They were too busy filling in forms and persecuting motorists to hit their traffic offence quotas.
There were four men involved in the grooming and abuse—two sets of brothers who had preyed on pre-teen and underage teenage girls for at least five years. Six weeks ago, Tanya Norris became pregnant. The gang attempted to make her miscarry. Her condition went into rapid decline. One gang member drove her to a local hospital, not out of concern for her safety but to dump her on someone else’s doorstep. They had no further use for her, so she got shoved through the passenger door onto the pavement outside without slowing down. Tanya was very sick; without quick action, she may have died.
Fortunately, the staff spotted Tanya and hurried her into the emergency room, where they treated her immediate injuries. The doctor looking after her noticed other scars and bruising, plus the usual demeanour and pallor associated with a habitual drug user. She interpreted this as indicative of her young patient suffering abuse over a long period, whether self-administered or by a third party. She became concerned for Tanya’s welfare, but Tanya shut down. Months of abuse, the frequent misuse of alcohol and drugs and the Svengali-like control the gang members exerted over her left her afraid of her own shadow. She trusted no one.
As Tanya recovered in the hospital, the doctor spent as long as she could, often in her own time, building up the young girl’s trust. There was no mention of police or social services. The doctor did not interrogate her about her family or friends. She gently probed, trying to get the youngster to open up to her more on each visit. In time, the dam broke. Tanya cried, and the entire sad story tumbled out between the sobs and the tears.
Once the full horror of Tanya’s treatment at the hands of the gang became apparent, the young doctor made a phone call. That first call was to a national newspaper. Similar stories were becoming a familiar pattern across the country. The men came from Muslim backgrounds, in their early to mid-thirties. Their victims were almost exclusively white. Over the past five years, people with suspicions about what was happening contacted the police and social services. Unfortunately, no one had followed up on those suspicions.
“You can hear the conversation. We will be racists if we accuse them of something. Either that or because of their backgrounds they wouldn’t believe the girls might be telling the truth. The authorities discounted any rumours or complaints as unreliable.”
These girls were between twelve and fifteen years of age. Most came from broken homes; some had run away, like Tanya Norris. Others were already in the care system and were frequent absconders. In a matter of weeks after meeting the men, they received presents, and then alcohol was followed by coke and heroin.
They were ferried around town in expensive cars and lulled into believing the men cared for them. It was easy to see why they fell for these tactics. They never had much love at home. For a few, it was the first time in their life that anyone had shown them affection.
In time, the drugs made Tanya and the others dependent on the gang, and it soon became impossible for them to leave. That was when Tanya’s nightmare began. She described her ordeal, details of where, when and how the rapes and torture occurred. If she showed any sign of resistance, her punishment was severe.
After the men had used and abused her for days, they set her to work for them. Tanya travelled in the same expensive cars she enjoyed in those innocent days. Now she went to various addresses around the town where dozens of men paid hundreds of pounds to her captors to have sex with her.
Inevitably, Tanya became pregnant. Her treatment at the hands of the brothers was horrendous. The gang blamed her for being stupid and not taking precautions. The beatings and verbal abuse continued until the botched attempt at a miscarriage and that final car ride to the hospital. After that, they continued to exploit the remaining girls under their control without a single thought for Tanya.
According to an imam from a local Islamic congregation, race and religion linked these grooming rings inextricably. The more radical preachers encouraged men to believe young white girls were naturally promiscuous just because they were non-believers, non-Muslims. They see the way British girls dress in skimpy, revealing clothes. Their provocative nature was encouraged by the images portrayed in the media by their screen and music idols. They believed they were justified in exploiting and degrading them. It was what they deserved.
The authorities appeared eager to ignore the exploitation, desperate not to undermine the official creed of cultural diversity. They had failed to act, even in the face of evidence of blatant abuse. The authorities received a swift public whitewash. “There was no apparent evidence of willful professional misconduct. Senior managers were unaware of the problem. No one was to be disciplined or sacked.” (Gold, Silver & Bombs – The Phoenix Series – 2015)
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/theyknew/
I urge you to pledge what you can.
