An independent critic reported that Shabir Ahmed, who led the sexual abuse ring in Rochdale, was seconded to the Oldham Pakistani Community Center while working for the local authority. Despite multiple concerns about him and his arrest for sexually assaulting children, police did not inform his employers. “If this had happened, the tragic abuse of other children could have been potentially avoided …” the report said, citing “serious multiple setbacks” by both the GMP and the local authority. Ahmed, identified only as “Actor A” in the report, is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence. The revelation came in a report that concluded that police and local councils in Oldham had failed to protect some children from grooming and sexual exploitation. The review found that “some children had failed the services they were intended to protect because child protection procedures had not been properly followed,” but said there was no evidence of concealment by authorities. The report also describes how a 12-year-old girl who was raped several times in one day was seriously disappointed by the police and the Oldham Council. The review, commissioned in 2019 by the Oldham Council, found a “structural flaw” in the multi-service system set up to tackle child sexual exploitation, with the result that some perpetrators “were not arrested earlier”. However, he said there was no evidence that senior officials or city councilors had tried to “cover up” the existence of child sexual exploitation. There is no evidence of “widespread” hookah abuse in bars, taxi companies and children’s homes The review investigated the role of hookah bars, taxi companies and orphanages in child sexual abuse, following complaints on social media, but found no evidence of “widespread” abuse within or related to these environments. However, children aged 13 and 14 were known to have been “sexually exploited” in hookahs in 2011. Judges were also concerned about two cases in which taxi drivers were accused of “sexually assaulting and raping female passengers”. Critics say the Oldham Council did “everything possible” to publicize the threat of child sexual abuse and “tried hard” to tackle it, something the Greater Manchester Police Department tried to “mirror”. However, the reviewers also found that the quality of handling cases for children at risk was generally “very poor” when examining a sample of 10 complex cases and that there was a failure to “properly initiate child protection procedures by many services”. Sky News spoke to a woman who appeared in the report, who was raped several times when she was just 12 years old. She told Sky News she wanted to relinquish her right to anonymity as a survivor of sexual abuse. Her name is Sam. Sam said she was drinking with her friends at a local church when a man sexually assaulted her. She went to the Oldham police station to report the attack, but said she was fired by an office worker. “I was just told to go home. There were two men at the door who offered to pick me up,” says Sam. She says the clerk let her go with the men. Naively, Sam went with them, but instead of taking her home, she was sexually assaulted in a car. After leaving Sam, he asked for directions from a stranger. He said he would help her, but instead took her to a house where he was horribly abused by him and others. Within 24 hours, eight men attacked and raped her several times. Only one man, Shakil Chowdhury, now 54, was jailed in 2007 for raping Sam that night. Image: Shakil Chowdhury, now 54, was jailed in 2007 for rape The review team states that the council and the Greater Manchester Police failed to protect Sam and made subsequent denials which “gave the impression that both services were more concerned about covering up their failures than acknowledging the damage done to a vulnerable young man “. Responding to the review, Sam told Sky News: “I was horrified and shocked when I found out the new information, especially the police knew the identities of the perpetrators for 16 years. “The cover-up continues, I have zero confidence in the Greater Manchester Police and the Oldham Council. What happened to me and the campaign for justice had a profound effect on my life and that of my family. There must be a public inquiry.” Maggie Oliver, a former GMP detective who became an informant, said: child protection. “Catastrophic failures” “This report clearly demonstrates once again the catastrophic failures of the force and its repeated attempts to cover up and conceal these failures from both the victims and the public they serve, and this is extremely worrying.” Andy Burnham, the mayor of the Greater Manchester, said: “This report continues the process of shedding light on past failures in the Greater Manchester. “There have been serious failures and the victims have been particularly disappointed [Sam]. “Although there was no evidence of concealment, we should not shy away from acknowledging the shortcomings.” Wider Manchester Police Chief Stephen Watson said: “I want to extend my sincere apologies to all those affected by the events under investigation. “Our actions did not have the help they had every right to expect and were unacceptable. I feel sorry for the trauma and the continuing trauma they have suffered because of what happened to them. “I intend to meet with him directly [Sam] and those who supported her during this very difficult period and I salute that I can apologize to her in person. “However, I would also like to take this opportunity today to state publicly that I am very sorry for the failures in the way we responded to her call for help; for not adequately documenting or investigating the crimes committed against her and for not enough to listen to her and support her during the subsequent reviews we undertook on her case. “ The head of the Oldham Council, Amanda Chanderton, said: “We fully accept the findings of this independent report. “It highlights clear weaknesses, where our services at the time were not good enough to protect vulnerable young people who are being subjected to the most horrific abuse. “I’m deeply sorry for that … I hope, however, to offer some reassurance that, as a council, we have not stood still since the time period referred to in the review.”
