Rochdale parents slam cops who posted a picture online of possible child grooming hot spot after they reported it
POLICE and social workers have been accused of wasting a chance to catch a gang exploiting kids for sex in a town rocked by a grooming scandal.
Officers were given details of a suspected grooming hot spot — and then revealed the location on Facebook, potentially alerting the perverts that the site was under investigation.
Concerned locals passed on evidence of youngsters being sold for sex in cars under a railway bridge in Rochdale.
The Sunrise Team — a special unit including police and social workers — then posted a photo of the bridge on its Facebook page.
It added: “Sunrise have been made aware by members of the local community, of CSE (child sexual exploitation) concerns, around the Richard Street area in Rochdale. We are investigating. We are aware of current and historic local issues to that area.
“If anyone has any information please contact 101 or crimestoppers annonmysously (sic) on 0800 555 111.”
The post was slammed by anti-paedo group Parents Against Grooming, which has been mounting patrols in the wake of the town’s appalling child abuse scandal.
Member Billy Howarth blasted: “It is absolute madness.
“We had evidence of girls being picked up from properties and taken there, also lots of girls waiting about for pick-up and lots of pimps and drug dealers parked about in this area.
“And what do Sunrise do? They just stick the location on Facebook so the criminals will know they are on to them and move somewhere else.”
One shocked local commenting on the Facebook post said: “Why not walk up and down with a loudspeaker advising all the paedos in the area that you'll be coming down?
“Better still why not take an advert out in the local press? Maybe hand a few flyers out to warn them that there is information of their activity in the area.
“Well done. Any nonce operating in this area has now disappeared to continue their crimes elsewhere.”
Another fumed: "Amazing work from the Sunrise Team on alerting the criminals as to when and if they need to keep their heads low.
"Who the hell are you safeguarding? The groomers?"
Gillian Tolley added: "This has got to be the winner of the 'Stupid Post Award'."
Parents Against Grooming was set up in the wake of the systematic abuse of 47 vulnerable girls by a gang of Asian men in Rochdale, which was dramatised in the harrowing BBC 1 show Three Girls starring Maxine Peake.
The revelation in May 2012 that the Asian men were guilty of the grooming, rape and sex trafficking of teenaged white girls shocked the nation.
It emerged police and social services had known about the abusers for years but did nothing despite health worker’s Sara Rowbotham's efforts to get them to intervene.
The Sunrise Team said it investigated a report from another member of the public — not associated with Parents Against Grooming — and later posted on Facebook to let the public know.
A spokesman said: "We regularly use social media, as other crime agencies do, to keep people informed of the work we are doing to tackle CSE, and other crimes, and that concerns are investigated.
"This area has been part of our operational work for some time. A concern came in from an individual around soliciting/prostitution which we investigated immediately.
"This particular post was added after to clarify that investigation work had already taken place, and it continues. The message to the public was that if they had any further information it is vital they share it with us.
"Posts like this also raise awareness of an area to the public so they can be vigilant and take the necessary steps.
"We urge members of the public to contact Crimestoppers (0800 555 111) or 101 if they have information that will be used to safeguard the people of Rochdale borough.
"The team has had great success over the years in prosecuting offenders, with other partner agencies, often as a result of information received from the local community.
"We think it is important to maintain a dialogue with residents in the borough and our social media platforms are one of the methods we use to achieve this."
MOST READ IN NEWS
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.