Abuse survivor speaks of grooming horror during fiery debate over damning child sexual exploitation report

A survivor of abuse spoke out about her own grooming horror during a stormy debate over the findings of a damning review into authorities’ handling of child sexual exploitation.

The review, carried out by experts Malcolm Newsam and Gary Ridgway, found that vulnerable children in Oldham had been failed despite efforts to protect them between 2011 and 2014.

A specific case dating back to 2005 involving ‘ Sophie ’, a 12-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped, was singled out for intense criticism for the way authorities dealt with the investigation into her assaults by strangers, and for the failure to take action when she was being groomed online.

The report stated that it found no evidence of a widespread cover-up of sexual exploitation in the borough, and between the years 2011 to 2014 services endeavoured to prevent at risk young people from being taken advantage of.

But the authors said that while strategies were good on paper, they frequently did not translate into protecting children on the ground from abuse.

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Amid turbulent scenes at an extraordinary meeting on Monday night, one woman addressed the council to reveal she had been groomed in the 1980s and was another survivor of sexual abuse.

She told the chamber that in the 1980s she was taken into the care of the local authority, adding: “When I went into the girls home I was warned about the man that worked in Civic Centre. I was horrified.

“I was also taken off the streets of Oldham town centre. I was 16 years old. I was so disgusted with myself. I was taken out of the area, I was taken along the M62 to other northern towns because that’s what