EXCLUSIVE Sex offence charges drop for police force in Telford scandal

EXCLUSIVE: Police force that ‘ignored’ decades of sex abuse in Telford over fears investigating Asian men would ‘inflame racial tensions’ reported 75% DROP in sexual offences that result in charge or summons over last five years

• West Midlands Police has seen a significant decrease in sexual offence charges
• New FOI data shows a stark decrease in the number of convictions from 2016
• WMP said it had ‘let victims down’ in the past but is working hard to improve
• An enquiry found an ‘absence of policing’ on child sexual abuse for decades

The police force that presided over decades of child sexual exploitation in Telford has seen a 75 percent drop in the proportion of sexual offence allegations, which result in a charge or summons, MailOnline can reveal.

New data from West Mercia Police (WMP) also shows a drop in the number of convictions and a ‘concerning’ increase in victims not supporting or withdrawing their support from investigations in the last five years.

West Mercia Police told MailOnline they have historically ‘let victims down’ and are ‘concerned’ by the statistics – but insist they are not ‘letting perpetrators get away’ with committing sexual crimes. 

It follows an inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Telford which concluded in July that more than 1,000 children were sexually abused or raped in the town over a 30-year period, and West Mercia Police ‘ignored’ abuse over fears investigations into Asian men would ‘inflame racial tensions’.

West Mercia Police were found to have ignored decades of child sexual exploitation in Telford (Pictured: Wellington, Telford)

 Some of the worst abuse was centred in Welington, Telford, where there was a ‘rape house’ which young girls were taken to to be abused by multiple men.

Bars, restaurants and other establishments involved in abuse in the area would sometimes have ‘abuse rooms’ for young children to be taken into for the sex offences to take place.

Data obtained from WMP via Freedom of Information requests for the period 2016-2021 shows a downward trend in investigations ending in perpetrators being punished for all types of sexual offences. 

The proportion of offences leading to further action dropped by three quarters although the number of offences recorded did not significantly change.

This is despite efforts to reform the force and increase sexual offence convictions after the enquiry into Telford highlighted a series of drastic failings by the force to protect children from sexual exploitation.  

In the light of the statistics MP for Telford Lucy Allan told MailOnline she will continue to ‘hold the Police and Home Office to account’ in Parliament,  even ‘when it raises uncomfortable questions’.

But local sexual violence charities said they are ‘not surprised’ at the figures, pointing to long waits for justice and societal victim-blaming. 

The proportion of all sexual offences recorded by the force which ended in a charge or summons fell to 3.6 percent in 2021, a 75 percent drop from its 2016 figure of 14 percent.

The proportion of  West Mercia cases which ended due to a lack of victim support despite the perpetrator being identified rose to 35 percent by 2021

In the whole of West Mercia just 39 people were convicted of a sexual offence in 2021, despite 3543 offences being recorded in the same year

WMP is responsible for policing in Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. 

The force categorises case outcomes, or OCs, by number and title. Two of these outcomes pertain to offences where the victim does not support the police investigation or has withdrawn support for the investigation.

Telford’s child sexual exploitation inquiry findings:  

• More than 1,000 Telford children were exploited ‘over decades’

• Obvious signs of child sexual exploitation were ‘ignored’

• Exploitation was ‘not investigated because of nervousness about race’

• Information was not properly shared between agencies, with some bodies dismissing child exploitation as ‘child prostitution’ and even blaming the children instead of the perpetrators

• Teachers and youth workers were ‘discouraged from reporting child sexual exploitation’

• Offenders were ’emboldened’ and exploitation ‘continued for years without concerted response’

• Police and the council scaled down specialist teams to ‘virtual zero – to save money’

In 2016, 24 percent of all offences recorded ended with no charge, summons or other consequences for the perpetrator despite their identity being known due to a lack of ‘victim support’.

By 2021 this had risen by almost 50 percent to 35.2 percent. 

A further 6.8 percent of cases recorded in 2016 by West Mercia Police were labelled as ‘Evidential Difficulties Victim Based’, with the full title explaining: ‘victim either declines/or is unable to support further police investigation to identify the offender’.

In 2021 this figure had risen by around 85 percent to 12.6 percent.

This means that by 2021 47.8 percent of all sexual offences reported to WMP, involving both adults and children, were halted because of victims feeling unable to support investigations further.

Over the same period the number of convictions secured in court also fell significantly, from 124 in 2016, to 49 in 2017 and just 39 by 2021.

This is out of thousands of cases recorded by police in each year. 

The number of cases in which defendants were not convicted also fell from 97 in 2016 to just eight in 2021. 

There were 3,543 sexual offences recorded by police in 2021, up from 2,727 in 2016. 

Experts point to multiple reasons why a victim may pull out of supporting an investigation or why cases may not end in a charge.

These range from police requiring the handover of a victim’s personal devices, which can be detained for six months or more at a time when victims are most vulnerable, or conviction rate targets which may discourage prosecutors from taking cases where a conviction is not all but guaranteed. 

Other factors include the often lengthy timescale of sexual offence investigations and the sensitive nature of the ‘abhorrent crimes’ victims have been subjected to. 

Meanwhile a spokesperson for WMP admitted the force’s past failings could play a role, particularly in the number of victims pulling out of supporting their cases. 

Tom Crowther QC, Chair of the enquiry into Telford, also found victims were routinely threatened or told their families would be killed if they revealed the abuse or supported police investigations.

Sex abusers in the town frequently referred to the murder of 16-year-old Lucy Lowe and her family in 2000. Lucy was killed in a fire two years after she first fell pregnant aged just 14.

Lucy Lowe was just 16 and pregnant with her second child at the time of her death in 2000. Her diaries showed she was passed around multiple older men for sex from a young age

Murderer and ‘boyfriend’ Azhar Ali Mehmood, who was the father of her first child, was ten years older than Lucy. He was jailed for life in 2001.

In her diaries, which survived the blaze, Lucy wrote about being taken to perform sexual acts on multiple older men from a young age.

West Mercia Police (WMP) suggested victims may not feel supported in bringing cases to the force given the failures highlighted in recent years in Telford.

The force’s Vulnerability and Safeguarding Superintendent, Jon Roberts, admitted: ‘It is concerning the number of victims who have withdrawn their support has risen’, adding the force would work with the CPS to try and understand factors behind it.

He acknowledged that the force had ‘let victims down in the past’ but had ‘apologised unequivocally for this’.

He added that conviction rates remain ‘lower than we would like’ but insisted ‘this does not mean we are letting perpetrators get away with committing such abhorrent crimes.’ 

WMP was strongly criticised in the report into child sexual exploitation in Telford after it found the force and local council were aware of sexual abuse issues ‘in detail’.

The report stated: ‘Failure by agencies to investigate emboldened offenders; failure to safeguard put children at risk.

West Mercia Police were slammed by the Telford enquiry for ‘ignoring’ sexual abuse for decades (Pictured: Telford Police Station)

Conservative MP for Telford Lucy Allan has promised to continued holding police and the Home Office to account on convictions of sexual offenders

‘So far as both the council and WMP were concerned, a number of features appear to have contributed to this shocking failure to address CSE: a focus upon abuse within the family, at the expense of extra-familial exploitation; over-caution about acting in the absence of “hard evidence” – a formal complaint from a child – about exploitation; and a nervousness that investigating concerns against Asian men, in particular, would inflame racial tensions.’

After the release of the report West Mercia’s PCC said: ‘This report will no doubt have people questioning their confidence in policing.’ 

The inquiry’s chairman said that in the absence of a police presence it is ‘impossible… not to conclude that there was a real chance that unnecessary suffering and even deaths of children may have been avoided.’ 

A spokesperson for the West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, a charity which caters to victims of sexual offences within West Mercia Police’s jurisdiction, told MailOnline the vast majority of survivors they encounter do not report offences to the police.

But they added: ‘It is not a surprise to us that those that do are withdrawing their support from police investigations. Victims continue to be let down by the criminal justice system.’

The spokesperson continued: ‘We are still a society that supports a whole range of myths and stereotypes around sexual violence. 

‘Victims face disbelief and blame for a crime that has been perpetrated against them, and then have to wait an increasingly long time for their cases to progress throughout the criminal justice process. 

‘This is unacceptable and adds to the trauma that has already been experienced.

‘The increasing delays in the criminal justice process are having a further knock-on effect on our organisation’s ability to provide timely support for new clients which compounds the trauma that these victims/survivors face. 

‘All services that provide support to victim/survivors of sexual abuse are chronically underfunded and clients are facing increasing delays in accessing specialised support.’

Meanwhile MP for Telford Lucy Allan said sexual offences are ‘some of the most horrific crimes in society’ as she promised to continue advocating for survivors.

She told MailOnline: ‘Telford has had a troubled history of CSE crimes, and I will continue to hold the Police and Home Office to account on arrests, convictions and safeguarding. 

‘In my role as Telford’s MP, I have worked with victims who have approached me directly and always encourage them to work with the Police to secure a prosecution.

‘Often this is extremely challenging for the victims who have already been through so much, but it is crucial that they can rely on the system to prosecute perpetrators and keep the public safe. 

Telford sex scandal: Timeline of abuse

1980s Girls in Telford are targeted by groups of mainly Asian men

1996 A resident goes to police with information about a key abuser selling underage girls for sex

Late 1990s Social workers learn of the problem but do little to help

2000 Lucy Lowe, 16, is killed alongside her mother and sister in an arson attack by abuser Azhar Ali Mehmood

2002 Abuse victim Becky Watson, 13, is killed in a road accident described as a ‘prank’ 

2010-2012 Police probe Operation Chalice identifies potential 200 abusers but only nine are jailed  

2016 MP Lucy Allan calls for public inquiry but police and council officials in Telford write to Home Secretary Amber Rudd saying this isn’t necessary

March 2018 As many as 1,000 victims are believed to have been abused

July 2022 Report into the scandal is published 

‘I commend their bravery in doing so. 

‘In Parliament I have consistently argued for longer sentences for offenders and better support for victims.

‘Victims need a voice in Parliament and I am determined to speak up, even when it raises uncomfortable questions for the authorities.’

Supt Roberts told MailOnline: ‘Rape and sexual offences are some of the most sensitive and complex cases we deal with. 

‘Victims of these offences have suffered abhorrent crimes and it can often take great courage and bravery for individuals to come forward and report these to police, when they do they should be able to do so with the confidence we will listen with care and compassion.

‘We know we have let victims down in the past and have apologised unequivocally for this. 

‘We are absolutely committed to continuing to develop our approach to tackling rape and sexual offences and ensuring victims have the support they need.

‘Conviction rates are lower than we would like; we know this is not just the case for us but nationally and we are continuing to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Joint National Action Plan.

‘It is concerning the number of victims who have withdrawn their support has risen and again, we work closely with the CPS to fully understand this. 

‘We must ensure the right outcome for the victim, and recognise for them this may not always be progressing the case through the courts.

‘This does not mean we are letting perpetrators get away with committing such abhorrent crimes, where we can we will pursue victimless prosecutions but this does present challenges.

‘We want victims to come forward and speak to us, but we know asking them to do so is not enough, they need to have the confidence they will be listened to and that they will be supported which is why we are working with survivors to understand how we can do this better. 

‘Also, as part of our drive to improve our response even more we are working with the national lead for Rape and Serious Sexual Offences to deliver Operation Soteria across West Mercia Police.’

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