Council 'repeatedly warned' about sex abuse risk

Rochdale Borough Council social workers had been warned dozens of times that local girls were at risk of abuse in the years before charges were brought against nine men who were found guilty of running a child sexual exploitation ring, the Guardian reveals.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Guardian show that an NHS team providing sexual health services to vulnerable young people made 83 referrals to Rochdale Borough Council about girls they thought were either being sexually exploited, or were at risk of exploitation, between 2004 and the end of 2010.

Staff on the crisis intervention team (CIT) also made 44 referrals to Greater Manchester police in the same period.

The revelations come as Rochdale's safeguarding children board (SCB) publishes a review concluding there were "many missed opportunities" over the past five years to safeguard children and young people affected by sexual exploitation. A working group set up by the SCB in 2007 identified in its first year 50 young people affected by, or at risk of, exploitation, the report reveals.

Agencies such as the CIT and Early Break, a drug and alcohol service for young people, understood that teenagers were victims of abuse, rather than consenting young adults, and referred potential victims to the council's children's social care department, the report says. But the response to cases of children at risk of exploitation was poor, with case files showing staff often considered such young people to be "making their own choices" and "engaging in consensual sexual activity". Often, no further action was taken. Agencies who had made referrals were left frustrated that their concerns were not being adequately assessed or dealt with.

There were "clear deficiencies" in the way social workers responded to the needs of the victim, referred to in the report as Suzie, with no action taken over referrals.

The report also details how the criminal justice system missed opportunities to bring the perpetrators to justice. Suzie first complained to police in 2008, but the Crown Prosecution Service later decided not charge anyone, as she would be an "unreliable witness".

In December 2010, Greater Manchester police launched Operation Span to investigate a large group of men suspected of sexual exploitation and, in 2011, the CPS overturned its decision not to bring charges relating to her case.

The Guardian's figures show that, in 2008 alone, there were 36 referrals to the council and 16 to the police.

The review also spoke to victims of exploitation involved in the court case, who described police and social services as "not listening" to them. "A common disclosure by the young people was that even when they co-operated with agencies, nothing changed, the abuse continued," the report says.

The father of the victim referred to in the review said he believed that social workers were incompetent: "Case files show that social workers in Rochdale believed girls who were being systematically abused were 'making their own choices'. By their neglect, they were complicit in prolonging the abuse. If they had being doing their job, they could have stopped this abuse years ago."