A POLICE probe has been launched into claims that gangs of men raped and abused vulnerable under-age girls in care.
Details of the alleged abuse have emerged after a mum in her 20s claimed she was a victim while living in two care homes in East Lancashire as a teenager.
She told police she was groomed and molested in return for alcohol, cigarettes and drugs while away from the homes.
The allegations refer to gangs of Asian men who it is claimed hung around the homes she lived in while under the care of Lancashire County Council.
The victim, who still lives in East Lancashire, also told officers she was abused while being looked after at a home in Merseyside.
She said care workers at that home failed to put a stop to the goings on, echoing the findings of a report into a sex ring in Rochdale, which highlighted ‘missed opportunities’ to halt abuse.
The victim, now a mother-of-four, spoke out to make others aware of the plight of children in the care system.
She is telling her harrowing story in small sections to specially trained officers from Lancashire police’s child exploitation team, Engage.
It comes as child sex abuse cases hit the headlines following hundreds of allegations that broadcaster Jimmy Saville has assaulted young girls.
Statistics show 645 child groomers were identified by Lancashire police between April 2011 and March 2012. Around 96 per cent of those groomers were male and three per cent were female.
In total 77 per cent of groomers were classed as white British, nine per cent were Asian Pakistani and three per cent were Asian Indian.
It is understood, that detectives are now looking into the possibility there may have been other victims.
At just 14-years-old the victim claims she was drugged and gang raped in a field while living at the care home in Merseyside.
She claims she was being denied medical help despite being taken to a police station naked and covered in blood and bruises.
DI Claire Holbrook, head of Lancashire Constabulary’s public protection unit, who is leading the investigation confirmed the allegations centred on East Lancashire.
She said: “Lancashire Constabulary has been made aware of a number of historic allegations and we are in the early stages of investigating those complaints.
“We would always encourage victims to feel confident enough to speak out about abuse they may have suffered and would like to reassure people that we take cases such as this very seriously and they will be investigated with the utmost sensitivity."
A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: “Police are investigating these allegations. We are unable to comment further.”
In May this year, members of a sex grooming gang in Rochdale were jailed to a total of 77 years.
They were jailed after being convicted of a racket where under-age victims were groomed for sex and trafficked from the Rochdale area to several address in East Lancashire and beyond.
Girls as young as 13 were first plied with fast food, drink and drugs before they were ‘handed around’ for sex by the men, eight of whom were from Pakistan and one from Afghanistan.
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H/T VillaLoyal
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