The Telfordchild sexual exploitation scandal is an ongoing scandal in the United Kingdom. Originally, a group of men were convicted of grooming local children for sex between 2007 and 2009 in Telford in the English county of Shropshire. While media reports had suggested 100 or more girls had been affected and around 200 perpetrators were suspected, the Sunday Mirror reported in March 2018 that up to 1,000 girls may have been abused, with some even murdered, in incidents dating back to the 1970s. According to the Home Office, as of 2015, Telford had the highest rate of sex crimes against children of any city in the United Kingdom. Telford has a population of just under 170,000 people.
Overview
In a series of trials stretching over two years and concluding in May 2013, seven men were convicted of sexual offences against four girls aged 13 to 16. The offences included rape, controlling child prostitution, causing child prostitution, and trafficking for the purpose of prostitution. In 2018, investigations by the Sunday Mirror alleged that the extent of the Telford grooming gang was far more vast than had previously been believed, with claims of up to 1,000 girls, most of them white, having been victims of trafficking, drugging, beating, rape and even murder. Similar with other grooming gang cases, it was alleged that the authorities failed to keep details of abusers from Asian communities for fear of being seen as racist, with police having known about gang activities since the early 1980s. The MP for Telford, Lucy Allan, has demanded an independent inquiry, stating, "There must now be an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Telford so that our community can have absolute confidence in the authorities." The police chief for West Mercia police "significantly disputed" the figures claimed by the Daily Mirror. The claim of "mostly white girls being targeted due to their background" has also been significantly disputed. Ansar Ali, a spokesman for Together Against Grooming, said he had seen evidence about the background of those affected. He said: "A study on this issue was done by the Office of the Children's Commissioner which dated back to 2013 and, according to that research, a third of victims were felt to be from a non-white background or black minority ethnic background." A Telford social worker also reiterated this view "It isn't only girls that are exploited, boys can be exploited in exactly the same way through grooming. "We work with an age range of 13 to 19-year-olds, we have females and we have males we support. "We have young people from all different backgrounds, it is not just targeting young girls through working class." The police chief also disputed claims that offenders were predominantly groups of Asian men, adding: "What I would say is sexual offending across Telford and Wrekin is virtually identically proportionate to the breakdown of society, so it is not one particular section over others and we will tackle it wherever it is."
Operation Chalice
set up "Operation Chalice" to investigate allegations that local girls were being groomed. Officers believe that up to 100 girls were affected between 2007 and 2009. According to a Channel 4Dispatches investigation, "The Hunt for Britain's Sex Gangs", police were told that men in Telford would "ejaculate and then urinate in children's mouths". There were also allegations of "gang-rape by queues of men while girls were held hostage for hours, sometimes days—all the while being forced to listen to the screams of girls in other rooms with other men".
Convictions
2012 convictions
2019 convictions
Call for inquiry
In September 2016, the Conservative MP for Telford, Lucy Allan, called for an inquiry. She said she has had a meeting with a victim of the abuse, who told her that many of the worst offenders had not been prosecuted and were still living in the area. Allan said that she would be asking the then prime minister, Theresa May, to take action.
