“They knew what was going on ... but kind of nobody took any notice’

'Girl B' tells of how authorities failed to protect her from abuse

- BY ANDREW BARDSLEY

AFTER an unspeakably chaotic and troubled start to her life, it seemed as though she had turned a corner.

Put up for adoption and spending time in children's homes, all before the age of ten, 'Girl B' had an incredibly tough start.

It was those tragic circumstances which made her so vulnerable and such ripe prey for predators.

But when she was placed with a new foster mum, a woman who was firm but fair and had her best interests at heart, Girl B had a strong ally to care for her.

But even she was unable to protect her. The authorities at the time did not seem to care.

Girl B herself later recalled that a social worker spoke to her to raise concerns that she had been 'having sex with a number of Asian men.

"They said I was prostituting myself, is actually what the social worker said to me," Girl B said.

"It's vile. I don't remember them being concerned enough to do anything about it. They knew what was going on."

Her foster mum told how she would call the police on numerous occasions if Girl B hadn't returned home.

Girl B said of her foster parent: "She told the social workers, she tried to do what she could. Kind of nobody took any notice."

These were just some of the opportunities which the authorities missed in stopping such horrendous abuse at the time.

Girl B became another victim of groomers in Rochdale.

Child grooming became a police issue in the town almost by accident.

Greater Manchester Police's initial investigation began after a seemingly unrelated arrest of a teenager for smashing up a cabinet at a takeaway in 2008.

But when she was being questioned, she laid bare how she'd been systematically abused by a number of men.

She provided officers with a detailed account of her ordeal as well as underwear carrying traces of one of her abusers' DNA.

Following an investigation two members of the gang were arrested and released on bail.