All Discussions Tagged 'UK:' - The 4 Freedoms Library2024-03-28T14:15:11Zhttp://4freedoms.com/group/children/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=UK%3A&feed=yes&xn_auth=noUK: Rochdale sex abuse review: 'failures of leadership' - Channel 4tag:4freedoms.com,2013-12-21:3766518:Topic:1425282013-12-21T05:12:13.284ZAlan Lakehttp://4freedoms.com/profile/AlanLake
<div class="receptacle body layout-wrapper layout-article" id="site-body"><div class="inner"><div class="section primary"><div class="section-inner"><div class="main"><div class="article"><div class="article-body"><p class="synopsis">A "catalogue of failures" by police, social workers and health professionals allowed sex-grooming gangs to flourish in Rochdale, an independent report finds.…</p>
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<div id="site-body" class="receptacle body layout-wrapper layout-article"><div class="inner"><div class="section primary"><div class="section-inner"><div class="main"><div class="article"><div class="article-body"><p class="synopsis">A "catalogue of failures" by police, social workers and health professionals allowed sex-grooming gangs to flourish in Rochdale, an independent report finds.</p>
<div id="cms:503619012" class="module groupID-AV c1 moduleID-AV01"><div class="componentRow"><div class="component"><div class="currentVideoDisplay cf"><div class="ads false video"><div class="playerId-1677202496001-FLAV"><div id="assetId-2955860966001" class="video-recepticle ads-false">The serious case review was launched by <a href="http://www.rbscb.org/" target="_blank">Rochdale Safeguarding Children's Board</a>after nine men were convicted of the systematic grooming and sexual abuse of white girls in Greater Manchester. It highlighted failures by 17 agencies who were meant to protect them.</div>
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<div id="cms:503616654" class="module groupID-AR c1 moduleID-AT01"><div class="componentRow"><div class="component"><p>The findings have resulted in an acknowledgement by <a href="http://www.gmp.police.uk/" target="_blank">Greater Manchester police</a>that the force let down a number of vulnerable girls who were groomed by gangs for sexual abuse.</p>
<p>Five of six victims on whom the report focused were "clearly in need of early help and at times intervention" by safeguarding agencies for several years before they were abused, it added. But there was no properly co-ordinated package of support and assessment which recognised such risks as neglect, domestic violence, parental health problems and substance misuse.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rbscb.org/news.aspx?ID=23&utm_content=bufferea6b9&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer" target="_blank">The report added</a>: "Given the highly organised, determined and manipulative behaviour of the perpetrators, it would be unrealistic to imagine that their behaviour could have been predicted and that all harm to all the young people they abused could have been prevented.</p>
<p>"However, had the sexual exploitation been recognised and responded to at the earliest stages, these young people may have been protected from repeat victimisation and other young people may also have been protected from becoming victims."</p>
<h2>Failure of agencies</h2>
<p>Forty-seven victims were thought to have been abused by the Asian gang, who were given sentences totalling 77 years after Liverpool crown court heard how they had plied their victims with drink and drugs and "passed them around" for sex.</p>
<p>"The report paints a shocking picture of the inability of these agencies to protect these young people successfully," said Jane Booth, chair of the safeguarding board.</p>
<p>Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk (Labour) said the report had "vindicated" his concerns about the way police dealt with the victims. But he said it was time to stop "endless inquiries and get on with the important work of change".</p>
<p>He added: "The approach has been completely wrong. Senior police officers keep talking about deploying more resources, but they're sending out untrained officers who cannot win the trust of victims. We need better leadership on this issue."</p>
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<div id="cms:503617263" class="module groupID-AR c1 moduleID-AT01"><div class="componentRow"><div class="component"><h2>'Culture of hopelessness'</h2>
<p>Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said the report failed to confront a "fundamental" problem faced by police officers, who are repeatedly asked to track down and return young people missing from children's homes, only for them to run away again. "It creates a culture of hopelessness, where the police officers think 'what's the point?'," he said.</p>
<p>"We haven't sorted out a solution to these really complex issues about young people."</p>
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<div id="cms:503617166" class="module groupID-AR c1 moduleID-AT01"><div class="componentRow"><div class="component"><h2>The danger of 'colour blindness'</h2>
<p>Race was also highlighted in the report, with agencies criticised for apparently never questioning why such a number of working-class white girls would have "friendships" with gangs of middle-aged Asian men. Police and local agencies have been reluctant to focus on the ethnicity of offenders in the town, which has a large Asian community. <br/><br/>But the report warned that a "colour-blind" approach was "potentially dangerous". It said there was "no direct evidence" of what has been defined by some commentators as "political correctness" - an over-sensitivity about race leading to a conscious unwillingness to recognise or respond to the abusive actions of the men concerned because they were Asian.<br/><br/>But this approach itself "raises questions", the report said.<br/><br/>It states: "In this particular context - the sexual abuse of young girls by men of a different ethnic background, in a community where there has at times been openly racist attitudes and confrontation between different groups - a completely 'colour-blind' approach, even if it existed, is potentially dangerous."<br/><br/>The report said the fact that the grooming gang were Asian should not be discounted - but to say the mere fact that they are Asian explains the behaviour is unjust, offensive and dangerous. It said further analysis and research is needed as to what significance race and culture did or did not hold.</p>
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<div id="cms:503616685" class="module c1 moduleID-AT04"><div id="userContent"><div class="componentRow"><p><br/><strong>The Serious Case Review also concluded:</strong><br/><br/>* Police, social workers, health workers and the Crown Prosecution Service failed to grasp the scale of child sexual exploitation.<br/><br/>* Lack of organisational priority over child sexual exploitation, an unstable duty and assessment team and a "chaotic" duty system.<br/><br/>* The authorities 'struggled to empathise' with the girls, partly because they were from 'poor backgrounds', giving them a 'skewed picture of their behaviour'.<br/><br/>* GPs had explicit information that could have helped authorities "identify the possibility of sexual exploitation".</p>
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<div id="cms:503616663" class="module groupID-AR c1 moduleID-AT01"><div class="componentRow"><div class="component"><h2>Sentences for five men</h2>
<p>The findings come as five men were sentenced for eight and a half years for sexually exploiting the "profound vulnerability" of a 15-year-old girl in Rochdale.</p>
<p>Many of her abusers plied her with vodka and cannabis before committing their offences, which took place in 2008 and 2009, Manchester Minshull Street crown court heard. Following their convictions, police apologised to the victim for failings in their initial probe into the defendants.</p>
<p>Judge Foster said the defendants had displayed "disturbing and worrying behaviour" but he did not regard them as dangerous. Before they were led to the cells, he told them all: "I hope, with these sentences, that you learn you must respect the dignity of all human beings, particularly the young and vulnerable."</p>
<p>Both Greater Manchester Police and the CPS have apologised for missing chances to bring the gang to justice sooner.</p>
<p>GMP also launched an internal investigation, overseen by the police watchdog, into the conduct of a number of officers in the wake of the scandal.</p>
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</div> UK: DPP calls for new, tougher policy on child sex abusetag:4freedoms.com,2013-03-06:3766518:Topic:1195912013-03-06T02:21:16.686ZAlan Lakehttp://4freedoms.com/profile/AlanLake
<h1 class="story-header">Child sex abuse: New policy for police and prosecutors</h1>
<div class="caption body-narrow-width"><a href="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66219000/jpg/_66219877_starmer_getty.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66219000/jpg/_66219877_starmer_getty.jpg?width=304" width="304"></img></a> <span>Keir Starmer will set out the changes in a speech on Wednesday</span></div>
<div class="embedded-hyper"><div class="hyperpuff"><h2><span style="font-size: 13px;">The way police and prosecutors in England and Wales deal with alleged sexual offences…</span></h2>
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<h1 class="story-header">Child sex abuse: New policy for police and prosecutors</h1>
<div class="caption body-narrow-width"><a href="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66219000/jpg/_66219877_starmer_getty.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66219000/jpg/_66219877_starmer_getty.jpg?width=304" width="304" class="align-right"/></a><span>Keir Starmer will set out the changes in a speech on Wednesday</span></div>
<div class="embedded-hyper"><div class="hyperpuff"><h2><span style="font-size: 13px;">The way police and prosecutors in England and Wales deal with alleged sexual offences against children is to be overhauled in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.</span></h2>
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<p>Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer will say in a speech that the accounts of alleged victims have been treated too cautiously.</p>
<p>New guidelines for police and prosecutors will be drawn up.</p>
<p>And a panel will review cases where alleged perpetrators were not charged.</p>
<p>Mr Starmer is keen that the Savile case should serve as a watershed for the criminal justice system, BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said.</p>
<p><span class="cross-head">Police 'over-cautious'</span></p>
<p>A review into allegations against the late DJ and TV presenter found Savile had carried out more than 200 sexual offences over a 54-year period.</p>
<p>Allegations were reported to police several times while he was alive but no action was taken against him.</p>
<div class="story-feature wide"><a class="hidden" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21673703#story_continues_2">Continue reading the main story</a><h2>Analysis</h2>
<div class="byline"><span class="byline-picture"><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48372000/jpg/_48372269_000105904-1.jpg" alt="image of Danny Shaw"/></span><span class="byline-name">Danny Shaw</span><span class="byline-title">Home affairs correspondent, BBC News</span></div>
<p>"A new genre of miscarriages of justice has arisen from the over-enthusiastic pursuit of these allegations". Those were the words of the Home Affairs Committee in 2002 after hundreds of people had been investigated about historical child abuse in children's homes and other institutions.</p>
<p>Many were wrongfully convicted and as a result the justice pendulum swung the other way: police adopted a more sceptical approach and prosecutors were more picky about the cases they took to trial.</p>
<p>Now, after the Savile affair and the emergence of other sex abuse allegations that have lain dormant for years, there's a sense that the pendulum needs re-positioning again.</p>
<p>The difficulty, as Keir Starmer acknowledges, is to set the right balance - so that investigators adopt a less cautious approach to what victims say while testing and questioning their accounts.</p>
<p>Experience suggests it won't be easy: expect a few cases to go wrong before things settle down.</p>
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<p id="story_continues_2">Mr Starmer says police and prosecuting lawyers have sometimes adopted an "over-cautious" approach in cases of sexual assault involving children - in order to guard against false allegations.</p>
<p>But standards used for establishing the credibility of someone making an allegation can mean vulnerable victims are not believed and are unprotected by the criminal law, he will say in his speech.</p>
<p>This is because complainants often have characteristics - such as inability to trust authority or to report intimate details - which both make them vulnerable and put their credibility in doubt.</p>
<p>In future, investigators will be expected to test the credibility of an allegation by focusing on the suspect as well as the alleged victim and whether there are links to other cases.</p>
<p>The new <a href="http://www.college.police.uk/" title="College of Policing">College of Policing,</a> with the agreement of the Crown Prosecution Service and Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) will develop a new policy to replace the 19 sets of guidelines for investigating child sexual abuse that currently exist.</p>
<p>Mr Starmer will say the new policy must be informed, coherent and able to withstand the test of time: "We cannot afford another Savile moment," he will say.</p>
<p>BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said a number of wrongful convictions following investigations into historic child abuse about 10 years ago saw the justice pendulum swing toward a more sceptical approach by police and prosecutors.</p>
<p id="">But he said after the Savile affair there was a sense that "the pendulum needs re-positioning again".</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21673703">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21673703</a></p> UK: Anti-white Racism and Child Abusetag:4freedoms.com,2013-02-27:3766518:Topic:1193262013-02-27T05:33:26.808ZAlan Lakehttp://4freedoms.com/profile/AlanLake
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gH6J1GFHzyQ?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gH6J1GFHzyQ?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe> UK: How many convicted paedophiles have police lost track of in your area? 137 gone missingtag:4freedoms.com,2013-02-26:3766518:Topic:1194042013-02-26T06:29:06.218ZAlan Lakehttp://4freedoms.com/profile/AlanLake
<h1 id="aeaoofnhgocdbnbeljkmbjdmhbcokfdb-mousedown">How many convicted paedophiles have police lost track of in your area? Map shows where 137 have gone missing</h1>
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<li><font>Figures show Metropolitan Police has lost 40 child sex offenders</font></li>
<li><font>Fears many child sex offenders may have left the country</font></li>
<li><font>Home Office says it uses some</font><font> of the toughest measures in the world</font><font> <br></br></font></li>
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<p>By …</p>
<h1 id="aeaoofnhgocdbnbeljkmbjdmhbcokfdb-mousedown">How many convicted paedophiles have police lost track of in your area? Map shows where 137 have gone missing</h1>
<ul>
<li><font>Figures show Metropolitan Police has lost 40 child sex offenders</font></li>
<li><font>Fears many child sex offenders may have left the country</font></li>
<li><font>Home Office says it uses some</font><font> of the toughest measures in the world</font><font> <br/></font></li>
</ul>
<p>By <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=James+Rush" class="author" rel="nofollow">JAMES RUSH</a></p>
<p><span class="article-timestamp"><strong>PUBLISHED:</strong> 12:16, 25 February 2013 </span>| <span class="article-timestamp"><strong>UPDATED:</strong> 14:09, 25 February 2013</span></p>
<p><font>Police have lost track of almost 140 paedophiles, sparking fears many may have left the country, it has been revealed.</font></p>
<p><font>Government figures show a total of 137 child sex offenders have disappeared after signing the sex offenders' register, which requires them to inform police of their whereabouts or any changes to their details.</font></p>
<p><font>The shock figures show the Metropolitan Police has lost by far the most paedophiles, with 40 on the run from the authorities in London.</font></p>
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<div class="artSplitter"><img src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/25/article-2284129-1846D201000005DC-96_634x658.jpg" width="634" height="658" alt="Missing: This map shows how many child sex offenders are on the run from each police force across the country" class="blkBorder"/><p class="imageCaption">Missing: This map shows how many child sex offenders are on the run from each police force across the country</p>
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<p><font>The force with the second highest number on the run is Greater Manchester, which has lost seven, while Sussex has lost six, according to The Mirror.</font></p>
<p><font>The West Midlands, Derbyshire, Kent and Lancashire all have five child sex offenders they are looking for.</font></p>
<p><font>The 137 paedophiles on the run includes Stephen Clare, who has been off Northumbria Police's radar since 2002.</font></p>
<p><font>He was jailed for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl and taking indecent photographs in the 1990s.</font></p>
<div class="artSplitter"><div class="splitLeft"><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/25/article-2284129-0D8E095500000578-345_306x423.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/25/article-2284129-0D8E095500000578-345_306x423.jpg?width=306" width="306" class="align-left"/></a></div>
<div class="splitRight"><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/25/article-2284129-0D8E08F700000578-993_306x423.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/25/article-2284129-0D8E08F700000578-993_306x423.jpg?width=306" width="306" class="align-right"/></a></div>
<div class="clear">Slipped through the net: Serial rapist Peter Chapman (left) had been off the police radar when he went on to rape and murder trainee nurse Ashleigh Hall, 17 (right)</div>
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<p><font>He served 18 months and was released from jail in 1998, when he moved to Brighton.</font></p>
<p><font>Meanwhile, another example of an offender who disappeared was serial rapist Peter Chapman, who was off the police radar for seven months after his monitoring level was downgraded by the authorities.</font></p>
<p><font>He went on to rape and murder 17-year-old trainee nurse Ashleigh Hall after contacting her on Facebook.</font></p>
<div class="floatRHS"><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/25/article-2284129-18460CE8000005DC-780_306x423.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/25/article-2284129-18460CE8000005DC-780_306x423.jpg?width=306" width="306" class="align-left"/></a><p class="imageCaption">On the run: Stephen Clare has been off the radar since 2002. He was jailed for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl and taking indecent photographs in the 1990s</p>
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<p><font>Chapman posed as a teenager on the internet to lure the trainee nurse to her death. He was jailed for life in 2010.</font></p>
<p><font>Children's charity the NSPCC has called for a system which makes it impossible for sex offenders to 'vanish'.</font></p>
<p><font>Jon Brown, head of sexual abuse programmes at the NSPCC, said: 'This is an extremely worrying situation as anyone who has committed a sex offence against a child must be considered an on-going risk. </font></p>
<p><font>'Keeping track of their movements has to be a priority for the authorities because we can’t gamble with the safety of vulnerable children. </font></p>
<p><font>'We really must have a system where no one with a record of this kind of offence can just vanish. It’s not acceptable and is a serious cause for concern.'</font></p>
<p><font>A Home Office spokesman said: 'We have some of the toughest measures in the world to manage violent and sexual offenders. <br/></font></p>
<p><font>'We are determined to do everything we can to protect the public which is why last year we introduced new measures to strengthen and extend checks on those subject to the Sex Offenders’ Register.</font></p>
<p id=""><font>'Individuals who breach their conditions are subject to tough penalties and the police and other local agencies should robustly enforce the tools and powers available to them.'</font></p>
<p><span><br/> <br/> Read more: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2284129/Revealed-The-map-Britain-shows-convicted-paedophiles-run-area-police-lost-track-them.html#ixzz2Lz4MiW8l">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2284129/Revealed-The-map-Britain-shows-convicted-paedophiles-run-area-police-lost-track-them.html#ixzz2Lz4MiW8l</a> <br/> Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=MailOnline" target="_blank">@MailOnline on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=DailyMail" target="_blank">DailyMail on Facebook</a></span></p> UK: Police investigating three more child grooming cases in Greater Manchestertag:4freedoms.com,2012-11-09:3766518:Topic:1148322012-11-09T00:41:14.288ZAlan Lakehttp://4freedoms.com/profile/AlanLake
<div class="headline"><h2><a href="http://menmedia.co.uk/asiannews/news/crime/s/1591970_revealed-police-investigating-three-more-child-grooming-cases-in-greater-manchester" target="_blank">Police investigating three more child grooming cases in Greater Manchester</a></h2>
<p class="article-date">October 24, 2012…</p>
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<div class="headline"><h2><a href="http://menmedia.co.uk/asiannews/news/crime/s/1591970_revealed-police-investigating-three-more-child-grooming-cases-in-greater-manchester" target="_blank">Police investigating three more child grooming cases in Greater Manchester</a></h2>
<p class="article-date">October 24, 2012</p>
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<div class="article-text"><br/><p>Detectives are investigating three more major child sex grooming cases in Greater Manchester.</p>
<p id="aeaoofnhgocdbnbeljkmbjdmhbcokfdb-mousedown">All of the new investigations involve a group of men allegedly raping or sexually abusing a string of teenage girls.</p>
<p>GMP have also not disclosed the specific location of the gangs.</p>
<p>It follows three other cases where alleged offenders have been either charged or convicted.</p>
<p>In one, nine men were yesterday charged in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of a girl in Rochdale.</p>
<p>The charges relate to child exploitation offences committed separately against one teenage girl between 2008 and 2009.</p>
<p>The men were arrested in May.</p>
<p>They have all been bailed to appear before Bury magistrates later this year.</p>
<p>In April five men were charged with a variety of sex offences against girls from Stockport.</p>
<p>And in May nine men from Rochdale and Oldham were jailed for raping and sexually abusing girls as young as 13 between 2008 and 2010.</p>
<p>The Asian men, most of them working as taxi drivers or in fast-food takeaways in Heywood, were convicted on the back of evidence from five white girls.</p>
<p>Scores of girls were ‘shared’ with other men at sex parties across the north.</p>
<p>The judge who jailed the nine suggested race may have been a factor in the abuse, telling the men he believed they chose the girls because they were ‘not of your community or religion’.</p>
<p>The investigation into the Rochdale case continues, with detectives still trying to track down four other men said to have abused one of the five girls. Two men aged 33 have been arrested and released on bail pending further enquiries.</p>
<p>Detectives are also investigating ‘numerous’ other smaller sexual exploitation cases, each one believed to involve one alleged victim who claims to have been abused by one or two men.</p>
<p>Greater Manchester Police has doubled the number of detectives working on tackling sexual grooming since the Rochdale convictions earlier this year. Now around 400 detectives are involved in its inquiry into child sexual exploitation and other sex offences across the region.</p>
<p>Detective Chief Superintendant Mary Doyle, head of GMP’s Public Protection Division, said: "There are currently a number of child sexual exploitation investigations underway across the force, which range from individuals up to large groups of offenders that are loosely connected to each other.</p>
<p>"Some of these investigations have arisen from historic allegations and some are based on new complaints.</p>
<p>"We now have a much better understanding of the signs to look for, plus there have been significant improvements in the sharing of information between agencies. Also, the widespread publicity surrounding recent cases has ensured that victims, witnesses, carers and the wider community are much more alive now to the threat.</p>
<p>"Child sexual exploitation is now one of the force’s top priorities and we are absolutely committed to ensuring it gets the resources that it deserves. As a result we have put significant investment into both the Public Protection Division and our co-located multi-agency teams.</p>
<p>"We currently have around 400 officers working full-time as part of these teams, working in a number of areas including child sexual exploitation and other sexual offences."</p>
<p>The nine men who were charged yesterday in connection with the latest Rochdale grooming investigation are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Freddy Kendakumana, 26, of Illminster, Rochdale has been charged with three counts of rape, attempted rape and four counts of sexual activity with a child under 16. He has been bailed to appear at Bury Magistrates’ Court on 7 November 2012.</li>
<li>Roheez Khan, 26, of Ashfield Road, Rochdale has been charged with ten counts of sexual activity with a child under 16. He has been bailed to appear at Bury Magistrates’ Court on the 8 November 2012.</li>
<li>Chola Chansa, 32, of Illminster, Rochdale has been charged with two counts of sexual activity with a child under 16. He has been bailed to appear at Bury Magistrates’ Court on 9 November 2012.</li>
<li>Anjam Masood, 30, of Marne Crescent, Rochdale has been charged with sexual activity and inciting sexual activity with a child under 16. He has been bailed to appear at Bury Magistrates’ Court on 21 November 2012.</li>
<li>Asrar Haider, 38, of Chamber House Drive, Castleton, Rochdale has been charged with sexual activity and inciting sexual activity with a child under 16. He has been bailed to appear at Bury Magistrates’ Court on 21 November 2012.</li>
<li>Ali Asghar Hussain Shah, 39, of Lyefield Walk, Rochdale has been charged with sexual activity and inciting sexual activity with a child under 16. He has been bailed to appear at Bury Magistrates’ Court on 22 November 2012.</li>
<li>Abdul Huk, 36, of Ouldfield Close, Rochdale has been charged with sexual activity with a child under 16. He has been bailed to appear at Bury Magistrates’ Court on 23 November 2012.</li>
<li>Mohammed Rafiq, 31, of Allington, Freehold, Rochdale has been charged with sexual activity and inciting sexual activity with a child under 16. He has been bailed to appear at Bury Magistrates’ Court on 5 December 2012.</li>
<li id="">Mohammed Ali, 27, of Exbury, Rochdale has been charged with sexual activity with a child under 16. He has been bailed to appear at Bury Magistrates’ Court on 6 December 2012.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div> UK: More Mosques implicated in Child Marriage - from One Law for Alltag:4freedoms.com,2012-09-19:3766518:Topic:1119062012-09-19T13:16:07.338ZAlan Lakehttp://4freedoms.com/profile/AlanLake
<p><span>We are writing to you today to ask for your urgent and immediate support.</span></p>
<p><span>As you may have seen in the papers recently, there is growing evidence that young children – some as young at 5 years old – are being “married” to older men in Sharia courts across Britain. This is increasingly being sanctioned by the Islamists who run Britain’s network of Sharia courts, and there is evidence that this practice is growing.</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Recent…</strong></span></p>
<p><span>We are writing to you today to ask for your urgent and immediate support.</span></p>
<p><span>As you may have seen in the papers recently, there is growing evidence that young children – some as young at 5 years old – are being “married” to older men in Sharia courts across Britain. This is increasingly being sanctioned by the Islamists who run Britain’s network of Sharia courts, and there is evidence that this practice is growing.</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Recent Investigations</strong></span></p>
<p><span>A </span><a href="http://www.iengage.org.uk/news/comment/2072-sunday-times-front-page-story-on-islamic-child-brides"><span>recent undercover investigation by the Sunday Times</span></a><span> found imams in Britain willing to “marry” young girls, provided this was carried out in secret. The imams had been approached by an undercover reporter posing as a father who said he wanted his 12 year old daughter married, to prevent her from being tempted in to a "western lifestyle".</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Imam Mohammed Kassamali, of the Husaini Islamic Centre in Peterborough</strong>, sanctioned the marriage, but stressed the need for total secrecy. He stated: “I would love the girl to go to her husband’s houses (sic) as soon as possible, the younger the better. Under sharia (Islamic law) there is no problem. It is said she should see her first sign of puberty at the house of her husband. The problem is that we cannot explain such things (the marriage) if the girl went tomorrow (to the authorities).”</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Abdul Haque, who officiates at weddings at the Shoreditch mosque</strong>, east London agreed to carry out the formalities of the wedding. However, he told the reporter that he should “tell people it is an engagement but it will be a marriage”. He added: “In Islam, once the girl reaches puberty the father has the right, the parents have the right, but under the laws of this country if the girl complains and says her marriage has been arranged and she wasn’t of marriageable age, then the person who performed the marriage will be jailed as well as the mother and father”.</span></p>
<p><span>Earlier this year, it was also reported that at least </span><a href="http://www.islingtontribune.com/news/2012/jan/islington-girls-forced-marriage-age-nine"><span>30 girls, some as young as 9, were “married”</span></a><span> in sharia courts in one London borough alone.</span></p>
<p><span>Clearly, child “marriages” are an abomination; they are nothing short of religiously-sanctioned child rape and paedophilia.</span></p>
<p><span>Sharia proponents deceptively say that forced marriages are unacceptable under Sharia and that both bride and groom must choose to marry as if that is the issue at hand. Islamists have gotten away with years of misogyny against Muslim women under cover of “choice” and are now using similar language with regards children. Nonetheless, child welfare must take precedence irrespective of religious beliefs. This is something we must urgently remind the Government of. Sharia courts are a scandal and must be stopped.</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Arbitration and Mediation (Equality) Bill</strong></span></p>
<p><span>One important way to tackle this matter is to galvanise support for the </span><a href="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2012-13/arbitrationandmediationservicesequality.html"><span>Arbitration and Mediation (Equality) Bill</span></a><span> introduced to the House of Lords last year by crossbench peer, Baroness Caroline Cox. The Bill is due for a second reading in October.</span></p>
<p><span>The Government has so far declined to support Cox’s Bill. They do not believe there is a parallel legal system in operation. They also insist that everyone has full right of access to the British courts. This is simply not the case. There are many with little or no English language skills, trapped by community pressure, who believe Sharia courts operate as real courts and who regard their decisions as legally binding. The idea that they can easily instruct a high street solicitor to help them access their full rights under UK law is far from reality.</span></p>
<p><span>The Government must be pressured into taking immediate action, including by supporting Cox’s Bill, and shutting down Sharia and religious courts. If child welfare takes precedence then the Government is duty-bound to take action.</span></p>
<p><span>Sign our new petition in support of Baroness Cox’s Bill; tell the Government that enough is enough! </span><a href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/End_discriminatory_Sharia_court_system_in_the_UK"><span>Please sign it now.</span></a></p>
<p><span><strong>Help Us</strong></span></p>
<p><span>Baroness Cox has said in the past that her Bill was inspired by One Law for All. To donate to our important work, please either send a cheque made payable to One Law for All to BM Box 2387, London WC1N 3XX, UK or pay via </span><a href="http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/donate/"><span>Paypal</span></a><span>. We need regular support and also for supporters to commit to giving at least £5-10 a month via direct debit. You can find out more about how to </span><a href="http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/donate/"><span>join the 100 Club here</span></a><span>.</span></p>
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<p><span>We look forward to your immediate intervention in this matter.</span></p>
<p><span>Best wishes,</span></p>
<p><span>Maryam Namazie and Anne Marie Waters<br/> Spokespersons<br/> One Law for All<br/> BM Box 2387<br/> London WC1N 3XX, UK<br/> Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731<br/> onelawforall@gmail.com<br/> <a href="http://www.onelawforall.org.uk">www.onelawforall.org.uk</a></span></p>