Three brothers ‘abused 54 girls in Rotherham - but remain at large’
Three brothers alleged to have abused more than 50 girls in Rotherham remain at large - despite police being told about their activities more than a decade ago, it has been claimed.
A former Rotherham Council researcher said mentions of the brothers, who are of Pakistani descent, featured ‘very heavily’ in a dossier she produced for police in 2001 on suspected abusers in the town.
But the information was never acted upon - and the researcher has told MPs that the men have never been prosecuted for the alleged abuse, despite facing other charges on different criminal matters.
In her evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, the researcher said she had put together a document detailing information about suspected abusers. She said the information was given to the police in the hope they could pursue criminal charges against perpetrators - but her dossier was dismissed as ‘unhelpful’.
The researcher said the three brothers were suspected of abusing 54 girls in October 2001, with a fourth brother also becoming involved in abuse in later years. One of the men was named by 18 different girls as their ‘boyfriend’ - with several believed to have been made pregnant by him when they were under 16.
She said none of the brothers, who were not named, have ever been prosecuted in relation to the allegations. Details about the family were also included in a report sent in 2003 to Rotherham Council, South Yorkshire Police and the Home Office.
The researcher’s report said the family was also alleged to have been involved in violent crime and drug dealing. It said: “Although the suspected perpetrators had been charged with different criminal offences on many occasions, the charges related to violent crime and driving offences. No charges for exploitation had been brought.”
South Yorkshire Police said the matter is ‘likely’ to form part of the National Crime Agency’s investigation into abuse in the town.
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