Safe & Sound Derby hopes that the Oxford grooming case will raise awareness of the issue among parents, carers and young people.

The charity spoke out after seven members of a sex grooming ring were convicted of abusing children from Oxford.

An Old Bailey jury heard six girls were drugged and suffered sadistic abuse while aged between 11 and 15.

The court heard victims were plied with alcohol and drugs before being forced to perform sex acts. Some had also been beaten, burnt and threatened.

Nine men had denied charges including rape, arranging child prostitution and trafficking between 2004 and 2012. Two were acquitted of all charges.

Safe and Sound Derby helps children and young people who are being, or who are at risk of being sexually exploited.

Chief executive Nathalie Walters said: “This has been a truly horrific case with the defendants appearing to have demonstrated the kind of predatory behaviour which is often typical in child sexual exploitation cases.

“The court was told how victims were passed around at parties and made to have sex with the defendants’ friends and they were threatened with violence if they did not comply.

 “We would like to praise the victims for their bravery in going to court and reliving their ordeal. Now that the verdicts have been delivered, we hope that they get the support they need to move on and lead normal lives.

“Once again, this case brings child sexual exploitation into the national spotlight and we hope that it raises awareness of the issues among parents, carers and young people as well as those agencies involved in keeping children safe.”

Ms Walters said there were a number of warning signs that could suggest a child is being, or is at risk of being, sexually exploited.

These include:

·         Frequently going missing from home or school

·         Going out late at night and not returning until morning

·         Being picked up in cars by unknown adults

·         A significantly older ‘boyfriend’ or ‘friend’

·         Unexplained money, mobile phone credit or a new mobile phone

·         Changes in behaviour, for example becoming secretive or aggressive

·         Increased use of mobile phones

·         Involvement in criminal activity

Jail sentences handed down to eight men who were found guilty of paying for the sexual services of a child.

Mark Adaoui, Ijaz Ahmed, John Shaw, Anthony Lambert and Stefan Godfrey were all convicted following a trial at Derby Crown Court in July. Three others had pleaded guilty earlier. Yesterday, the eight men were sentenced to a total of 42 years in prison.

The court case followed a lengthy police investigation – called Operation Kern – which began in July 2010 after concerns were raised about the safety of teenage girls seen on the streets of Derby in the evenings.

Safe and Sound Derby helps children and young people who are being, or who are at risk of being sexually exploited and worked with two of the victims in the case and the parents of one of the victims.
Nathalie Walters, chief executive of Safe and Sound Derby, said: “The men involved in this case were sexual predators who targeted and preyed upon vulnerable young girls.

“We hope that the sentences handed down to them today send a clear message out that child sexual exploitation will not be tolerated.
“The girls had to wait for two years to come to court where they had to relive their horrific ordeal in front of the very men who exploited them.

“Hopefully these sentences will provide some comfort to the victims and their parents and help them to move on with their lives.”

Two leading global organisations have donated £1,600 to a Derby charity that tackles child sexual exploitation.

The Fingerprint Society raised £600 for Safe and Sound Derby at its annual educational conference and a further £1,000 was donated by 3M Cogent, one of the conference sponsors. 

Every year since its formation in 1974, the Fingerprint Society has held an annual educational conference for forensic professionals and academics across the world.

During the conferences, fund-raising activities take place to raise money for a chosen charity which is concerned with youth projects and crime prevention or supporting victims of crime and their families.

This year the conference was held in Swanwick and the chosen charity was Safe and Sound Derby.

Organisers became aware of the charity due to Operation Retriever, a large scale investigation into child sexual exploitation in Derby.

During the conference the society sold personalised fingerprint key rings, charged delegates to attend specialist seminars and ran a sweepstake for the Grand National Horse Race.

Geoff Hunt is business development manager at 3M Cogent, an American firm which produces state-of-the-art fingerprint identification systems for Government and law enforcement agencies worldwide.

He said he was impressed by Safe and Sound Derby when he visited the charity.

He said: “We are pleased to be able to support the fantastic work of Safe and Sound Derby, we know our donation will directly help children who have been abused and groomed, and help those who are  vulnerable and at risk.

“It’s been good to visit the charity and see all their work first hand, and to learn about the work they’re also doing to help parents.  ”

Nathalie Walters, chief executive of Safe and Sound Derby, said they were very grateful for the donations.

She said: “As a charity we rely on grants and donations so we would like to extend our sincere thanks to The Fingerprint Society and 3M Cogent for their support. The money will help us to provide vital services in our fight against child sexual exploitation.”

A Derby charity has praised the bravery of the victims of five men who have been found guilty of paying for the sexual services of a child.

Mark Adaoui, Ijaz Ahmed, John Shaw, Anthony Lambert and Stefan Godfrey were all convicted following a trial at Derby Crown Court. They will be sentenced at a later date.

Five other men, who formed part of the same police investigation, have already admitted sexual offences involving children.

The court case followed a lengthy police investigation – called Operation Kern – which began in July 2010 after concerns were raised about the safety of teenage girls seen on the streets of Derby in the evenings.

Safe and Sound Derby, which helps children and young people who are being, or who are at risk of being sexually exploited, worked closely with local agencies throughout the operation.

Nathalie Walters, chief executive of Safe and Sound Derby, said: “We have been providing support to two of the victims as well as to the parents of one of the victims, helping them to move forward in their lives.

“The girls have had to wait for two years for this case to come to court where they then had to relive their horrific ordeal all over again.

“Giving evidence in court and being questioned in front of the perpetrators has been a harrowing experience for them.

“They have showed amazing bravery and strength of character and without their testimonies these men would not have been convicted.

“This case demonstrates that child sexual exploitation can come in many forms from on-street to internet grooming and that offenders can come from all walks of life.

“We hope these verdicts show that child sexual exploitation will not be tolerated in any form.”

A Derby charity is backing a national report released today (Tuesday, July 10^th) which has found that victims of child sexual exploitation commit crime as a cry for help.

The report, ‘Out of place: The policing and criminalisation of sexually exploited girls and young women’, by the Howard League for Penal Reform, reveals that many sexually exploited children offend to try to escape the perpetrators who exploit them.

Safe and Sound Derby took part in research carried out by the University College London Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science which found a similar pattern in Derby.

That research found that almost 40 per cent of more than 500 child sexual exploitation victims in Derby between 2001 and 2010 were involved in offending.

UCL analysed a sample of 552 sexually exploited children in the city between 2001 and 2010, 211 of whom had offending histories, which covered a total of 1,586 recorded crimes.

The research also found that 50 per cent of the 211 children had committed their first offence by age 14 and 75 per cent by the age of 15.

Offences ranged from shoplifting and burglary to criminal damage and resisting arrest.

Nathalie Walters is chief executive for Safe and Sound Derby, which helps children and young people who are being, or who are at risk of being sexually exploited.

She said: “We are not saying that child sexual exploitation victims have a licence to commit crime.

“However, there is a clear link between exploitation and offending and we believe that more needs to be done to break this cycle.

 “Victims of child sexual exploitation may well turn to crime in order to be removed from their abuser and this needs to be recognised.

“We welcome this national report and back the Howard League for Penal Reform in calling for local agencies to link together and develop new strategies to protect victims of child sexual exploitation.”

A Derby charity has welcomed new Government plans to combat the sexual exploitation of children in care homes.

Safe and Sound Derby said today’s announcement by Children’s Minister Tim Loughton would ensure that child sexual exploitation remained in the spotlight.

But the charity said it was important to remember that children who did not live in residential care were also victims of this crime.

Nathalie Walters is chief executive of Safe and Sound Derby, which helps children and young people who are being, or who are at risk of being sexually exploited.

She said: “We welcome any plans that highlight child sexual exploitation and explore ways in which it can be tackled.

“However, we must remember that children who don’t live in care homes are also victims and they must not be forgotten in the fight against this terrible crime.

 “We need to raise awareness about child sexual exploitation with all young people including those in care.

“We also need to train those working with children, young people, families and members of the public how to spot the signs of child sexual exploitation and act on them.

“As a charity, we want to stop young people becoming victims in the first place but if they are exploited we want to ensure that they, along with their families, have access to the specialist support they need.”

The Government plans act on recommendations made by the deputy children’s commissioner in a report on sexual exploitation.

The measures announced include new regulations to make it far harder to place children in care homes outside their home boroughs, and plans to streamline data to get a clearer picture of who goes missing from care.

Ministers also pledged a wide-ranging review of all aspects of the quality and effectiveness of children’s homes, including management, ownership and staffing.

The conviction this year of nine men in a child sex ring in Rochdale sparked concerns about the safety of children’s homes.

For more information about training on child sexual exploitation visit www.justwhistle.org.uk

Safe & Sound Derby is an established charity working to end child sexual exploitation

We are now looking for an exceptional person to join our small team to help drive our parent support work forwards, and are currently seeking to recruit for the following vacancy:

Parent Support Worker

Hours: 30 hours per week (to be worked flexibly to meet the needs of Safe & Sound Derby)
Contract: Fixed-term contract to 31 March 2013
Salary scale: £21,519 – £24,646 per annum pro rata, plus 5% employer pension contribution

Applicants need:
• Project development skills
• Experience of working with families in crisis
• Excellent communication skills
• A flexible approach to work
• To be well organized, and able to maintain administration and monitoring systems
• Good IT skills

Closing date: 5.00pm, Friday 20 July 2012
Interview dates: Week commencing 6 August 2012

For more information or to request an application pack please call Natalie on 01332 362120 or email natalie.grainger@safeandsoundderby.co.uk