I'm glad you have provided some first hand informaton Iam64. Having read the detailed report that was released some time ago, I have made similar points, but since you have more direct and expert knowledge of these sorts of issues, perhaps people will pay more attention to your input.
There were several examples in the report of police being fully aware of what was happening - for example, they found girls with much older Asian men late at night in cars, in houses - some in a dazed and inebriated state - and did nothing. They instead treated what was happening as consensual, whereas a minor cannot be deemed to give consent and anyone who has any form of sexual activity with a minor is committing a crime.
If there is clear evidence of sexual activity - and some girls even went to the police and asked for help, saying they were being used and abused but were frightened of these men - then there were valid grounds which would suplport a decision to investigate further. But this never happened and there was certainly some evidence that the police thought these young women - some of whom were in care and had troubled histories - were to blame for their treatment at the hands of these men. When the whole thing finally came to the surface, it was all too easy to blame "political correctness" for their inaction, and that sort of narrative was preferable to other employees who did nothing also.
Of course, these gangs committed disgusting criminal acts that deserved severe punishment but their blatantly criminal behaviour could have been stopped many years before. Given that these young women and older Asian men were very visible in the town centre at night, it must have appeared to these men that the police had no interest in what was happening and no intention to investigate their activities.
Paedophiles - whether individuals acting on their own or in groups - exist in all areas of society, even in those that appear outwardly "respectable", as I'm sure some young people could attest.
There has been little coverage in our mainstream media of the sex scandal in the US where a wealthy banker and his "recruits" are accused of identifying and trafficking vulnerable, often underage, young women from the US and around the world to sexually service men from the most senior echelons of society - politicians, senior academics, and even a member of our royal family have been implicated. Charges were brought some years ago against this wealthy banker but a plea bargain was made and he was only found guilty of "procuring a minor for prostitution" (some have pointed out that a minor cannot give consent and cannot therefore be described as a prostitute.) For this crime he was given 13 months in a private wing of a prison, with an allowance that he could leave the prison throughout the day to attend his office. Even though this is happening in another country, given the scale of this alleged paedophile ring, the people allegedly involved and the alleged corrupt practices in covering up these activites, why is there so little coverage here?
We know that some people are not what they appear - seemingly respectable people like well known politicians, businessmen, celebrities, etc or people in positions of trust, like priests, youth workers, sports trainers, etc. have been found to have committed appalling offences against young people. But we do not then say all priests, youth workers, sports trainers, etc, etc., are part of a community, the whole of hich is aware of, but quietly accepts, child abuse.
Did the senior religious leaders , the senior football officials,etc, etc, fail to report these issues to the authorities because of "political correctness"? I don't think so. They did nothing because it was less problematic for them personally and for the organisation's reputation to pretend it wasn't happening.
