The National Crime Agency (NCA) has identified even more victims in the Rotherham child sex abuse scandal that rocked the United Kingdom back in 2014.
The number is now at 1,510.
A previous report said that 1,400 suffered abuse between 1997 and 2013. Officials have identified 110 suspects:
The scandal launched Operation Stovewood, which currently has 34 investigations ongoing and six trials set to go this year.
Unfortunately, more information like this may come out in the future. Senior Investigating Officer Paul Williamson said that the inquiry’s “momentum and pace” will continue to increase and “will continue to increase.” In one case, just one victim “led police to identify 17 other victims, 30 suspects and 27 possible crime scenes.”
Officers are speaking to 260 victims, but they claim that they want to speak to all of the victims. The majority of the victims are white girls between the ages of 11 and 18. From Fox News:
A previous report commissioned by the Rotherham Council in 2014, found that at least 1,400 children – “a conservative estimate” – had been sexually exploited in the South Yorkshire city between 1997 and 2013.According to the 2014 report, children as young as 11 were “raped by multiple perpetrators, abducted, trafficked to other cities in England, beaten and intimidated.”Police said the victims were plied with drugs and alcohol before being abused at parties, in taxis or in back rooms. The vast majority of the victims were white British girls ages 11 to 19.
Williamson said a “toxic mix” of issues allowed abusers to get away with the abuse for so many years. The biggest issue was political correctness. 80% of the alleged abusers are of Pakistani heritage, which led investigators to remain silent because of fear of being called racist or Islamophobic.
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