Five women who were abused as children by Rotherham grooming gangs were also raped by police officers when they were as young as 12 years old, they have claimed.
In one case a girl who reported the abuse after being put under pressure by the gang to have an illegal abortion was left “destroyed” when an officer who had allegedly raped her turned up to interview her, she told the BBC.
Three former police officers have been arrested as part of an investigation into the alleged assaults, the South Yorkshire police (SYP) force has confirmed, while a fourth former officer who was accused has since died.
One girl was raped in a marked police car by a serving police officer, who threatened to hand her back to a gang to suffer “multiple rapes” if she did not comply, she told the BBC.
The women accuse corrupt police officers of turning a blind eye or participating in the grooming between the mid-90s and early 2000s. The wider scandal affected at least 1,400 girls in Rotherham and continued until at least 2013.
SYP is leading a criminal investigation into the actions of its own officers, overseen by the police watchdog.
Prof Alexis Jay, the chair of the independent inquiry into grooming gangs, told the BBC she was “shocked” by this. There were “many, many legitimate causes for victims and survivors at the time to feel a total lack of trust in SYP”, she said.
Jay added: “In far too many cases, the priority for the institution, of whatever kind, is to protect their reputation rather than prioritising the welfare of children and the devastating effect that sexual abuse can have.”
She called for the investigation into the SYP officers to be led by another police force or His Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services (HMICFRS), the body in charge of inspecting police forces.
The Yorkshire law firm Switalskis, which gathered testimony from 30 women who were abused by grooming gangs in Rotherham as part of a civil case against SYP, described the cases as “beyond belief”. The firm said it did not have confidence that evidence would not be buried by SYP through loyalties to those under investigation.
“There has been no accountability in the town – and without accountability, there will continue to be a distrust of South Yorkshire police,” said Amy Clowrey from Switalskis.
None of the former officers arrested by SYP since December 2024 have yet been charged, though one of the accused men can be named as PC Hassan Ali. He died in 2015, a week after being put on restricted duties due to alleged misconduct relating to the grooming gangs scandal.
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The woman who accused Ali told the BBC: “The first time, he literally said: ‘You do it for the other officer. So you’re gonna do it for me.’”
SYP said it had a “dedicated team of detectives working on this case” which had led to the three arrests.
Assistant chief constable Hayley Barnett said: “We know how hard it must be for a victim or survivor who has been so badly let down in the past to put their faith into the South Yorkshire police of today.
“We honour that trust with the utmost respect and care. Victims and survivors have been and continue to be at the heart of this investigation and all of our actions continue to be made in their best interests.”
She said the force was also working with the National Crime Agency, “who bring with them significant expertise through Operation Stovewood to help us ensure we leave no stone unturned”.
