- Grooming Pakistani-heritage gang activity is reported in many towns, including Oxford, Bradford, Rochdale, Rotherham, Telford (see map), and others.
- Critics accuse politicians of enabling abuse by ignoring multiple incidents involving Pakistani-heritage gangs.
London, Jan.20.– A graphic court document detailing the crimes of a notorious Pakistani-heritage grooming gang operating in the north of England caught the eye of U.S. readers on social media platform X recently.
Billionaire Elon Musk quickly jumped on the subject, attacking Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government and rekindling a long-smoldering debate in the UK over what is often called the grooming gangs scandal.
But what exactly is the scandal, and why did it take so long for the systematic exploitation and rape of thousands of girls to be exposed?
Why are Musk and others aiming at the current prime minister, given the scandal emerged over a decade ago? And what have the investigations into these crimes revealed?
For decades, children, specifically poor white girls in various towns in northern England, were targeted and groomed by Pakistani-heritage men, while—as later investigations, court cases, and reporters revealed—local officials turned a blind eye to the abuse due to fears of being labeled racist or of destabilizing community relations.
And it took decades to come to light.
In the 1990s, rumors began to emerge that men of Pakistani descent living in these towns were involved in raping children.
For example, the parents involved in the Coalition for the Removal of Pimping (CROP), later renamed Parents Against Child Exploitation (PACE), participated in a 2004 documentary that claimed white schoolgirls were being groomed for sex by Asian men in Bradford. The result was the documentary “Edge of the City,” which was due to be screened on Channel 4. However, the movie was pulled hours before airing ...
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