Misconduct hearing for South Yorkshire Police officer over handling of child rape

The officer, who has not been named by South Yorkshire Police, is alleged to have failed to conduct ‘adequate investigations’ into allegations of abuse in 2007.

The matters relate to the child sexual exploitation scandal in Rotherham, which came to light in 2014 following the publication of an independent report by Professor Alexa Jay, who estimated that 1,400 children had been abused by men of predominantly Pakistani heritage over a 16-year period while those in authority failed to act.

South Yorkshire Police and Rotherham Council were criticised in the report for their failings.

The five day misconduct hearing is due to begin on March 29.

South Yorkshire Police said: “This is a hearing into the conduct of a police officer from South Yorkshire Police, who is subject to the following allegations.

“In 2007, an officer failed to conduct adequate investigations relating to allegations of assault, sexual assault and rape on a child, as well as failing to record the matters in line with appropriate legislation. These allegations arise from the investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

“These are alleged breaches of the standard of professional behaviour of orders and instructions, duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct. They individually and/or cumulatively could amount to gross misconduct.”

Referring to child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, Prof Jay said in her report said: “It is hard to describe the appalling nature of the abuse that child victims suffered.

“They were raped by multiple perpetrators, trafficked to other towns and cities in the north of England, abducted, beaten, and intimidated.

“There were examples of children who had been doused in petrol and threatened with being set alight, threatened with guns, made to witness brutally violent rapes and threatened they would be next if they told anyone.

“Girls as young as 11 were raped by large numbers of male perpetrators.”

She found that the sexual exploitation of children in Rotherham was known about as far back as the early nineties and a number of reports over the next decade ‘were ignored’ by South Yorkshire Police and Rotherham Council and ‘no action was taken to deal with the issues that were identified in them’.

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