A victim of rape gangs in Oldham has claimed she was forced to take emergency contraception by a male police officer after she reported her abuse, GB News can reveal.
Sam, who was targeted by gangs in Oldham, reported an attack by a rape gang in 2006. She was just 12 at the time.
She had gone to Oldham police station to report a sexual assault, but police officers told her to come back later.
After she left the police station, she was attacked by a rape gang.
Charlie Peters sat discussing the ordeal with a grooming gangs victim
GB NEWS
Sam reported the incident to a rape crisis centre and was eventually interviewed by the police within a couple of days.
She claims she was given an emergency contraception pill to take at home, but she chose not to take it and hid it in her bedroom.
Sam told GB News that two days later she returned to her home in Oldham to find her parents with a male police officer.
In a police complaint seen exclusively by GB News, it is said that the officer “had the pill in his hand and told her she had to take it”.
The complaint added: “She refused, so he followed her into the hallway where he used one hand to grab her wrist and the other hand to squeeze her cheeks, forcing her mouth open, and pushed the pill into her mouth.”
It also claimed that she “ran upstairs and removed the pill from her mouth and discarded it”.
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A stock imag of a Greater Manchester Police officer
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The investigating officer assessing the complaint also spoke to the survivor’s parents.
The report claimed: “They were shocked by [the police officer’s] stern attitude as he informed her she had to take the pill.”
It added that he told her to “stop being a silly little girl” and explained “the repercussions of being pregnant at 12-years-old”.
However, the report says that the parents disputed the claims of force made by the survivor.
Greater Manchester Police has been unable to identify the officer behind the incident.
The force concluded that it had “not been able to determine if the service provided was acceptable”.
Oldham Police Station
GMP
The author of the report said that they “appreciate the wording of the outcome ‘unable to determine if service is acceptable or not’ is quite formal”.
They added: “This means, that despite best efforts to try and identify the officer who attended it has not been possible.”
The investigating officer confirmed that “it is not disputed that an officer did attend and did robustly encourage [the survivor] to take the morning after pill, in the presence of her parents”.
But they added that “the use of force alleged cannot be confirmed”.
This latest revelation from the Oldham grooming gangs scandal comes after GB News revealed that Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips had rejected calls from the town’s council for a government-led inquiry.
The news has generated a political furore, with the Conservatives and Reform UK calling for a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal after X founder Elon Musk shared coverage.
Sam told GB News that this incident showed how a new investigation was needed, with many details from the 2022 review commissioned by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority being criticised by some survivors for not conducting a sufficiently thorough assessment.
One of Sam’s rapists, Shakil Chowdhury, was imprisoned for six years in October 2007. He was behind bars for three years before his release on licence. GB News understands that he remains in the country and that he was not deported to his native Bangladesh, despite Government policy to return foreign national offenders to their home country. The five other men who raped her have never been brought to justice.
Responding to Sam’s case, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told GB News: “This case shows there are so many more cases not yet in the public domain or that have been covered up. Sporadic local inquiries that do not have the legal powers to summon witnesses or requisition evidence is not good enough.
“Only a national public inquiry will cover all of these cases in allure towns affected and will have the legal powers needed to summon witnesses and ensure evidence is delivered. I strongly commend Charlie Peters and GB News for continuing to uncover these shocking cases.”
Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Steph Parker also said: “We wholeheartedly apologise to all victims of child sexual exploitation who we badly let down, including Sam, for the hurt and ongoing trauma caused by what happened. We have accepted that our actions fell far short of the help that they had every right to expect from us.
“Child protection is the priority for the GMP of today. Our approach to protecting victims and pursuing perpetrators is significantly improved to that of two decades ago, with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary recently finding us to be good or adequate in all areas of protecting children across Greater Manchester.
“We continue to work with Sam and the abuse she suffered is one of a number of ongoing victim-focussed investigations by our specialist unit investigating non-recent Child Sexual Exploitation, which has 100 dedicated detectives working at a pace survivors are comfortable with when the time is right for them. This has seen more than 100 arrests, with suspects continuing to be taken to court to face justice.
“We are wholly focused on working with partners to listen to survivors of non-recent child sexual exploitation and ensure that they are believed. We are determined to bring offenders to justice for their crimes, no matter how long ago they were committed – time is no barrier to justice.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “No child should ever suffer sexual abuse or exploitation. Everyone who is responsible for children’s welfare must learn from past mistakes and do everything possible to prevent future failures.”
There is a precedent for local authorities delivering successful independent inquiries into the grooming gangs scandal, such as in Rotherham and Telford, where thousands of victims were identified after decades of abuse were ignored by the authorities.
In response to calls for full, independent inquiry, a Government spokesman added: “No child should ever suffer sexual abuse or exploitation and it is paramount we do more to protect vulnerable children – which is why we are working at pace across Government to drive forward real action to implement the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by professor Alexis Jay.
“The comprehensive independent inquiry ran for seven years and continues to work with survivors of these heinous crimes – and this Government is committed to working closely with survivors and expert groups like Act on IICSA.”
