Investigations into the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal

Investigations into the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal included local, national and media reviews, inquiries and investigations into the organised child sexual abuse of girls that occurred in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Northern England, from the late 1980s until 2013, and particularly the failures of local authorities to act on reports of the abuse throughout most of that period. Evidence of the abuse was first noted in the early 1990s, with reports made to the police and Rotherham Council from at least 2001. The first group conviction took place in 2010. Subsequently, Andrew Norfolk of The Times reported that the abuse in the town was widespread and that the police and council had known about it for over ten years. The Times articles, along with the 2012 trial of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, prompted the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee to conduct hearings. In 2013, Rotherham Council commissioned an independent inquiry led by Professor Alexis Jay, former chief social work adviser to the Scottish Government. In August 2014, the Jay Report published its recommendations and concluded that an estimated 1,400 children had been sexually abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. The perpetrators were predominantly British-Pakistani men. The majority of victims were White British girls, but British Asian girls in Rotherham were also targeted and received less support or public attention. The failure to address the abuse was attributed to a combination of factors, including fear that the perpetrators' ethnicity would trigger allegations of racism; sexist and classist attitudes toward the mostly working-class victims; lack of a child-centred focus; a desire to protect the town's reputation; and lack of training and resources. Several local authority and police staff members resigned after the report was published. The Independent Police Complaints Commission and the National Crime Agency also opened inquiries in response to the report, with the latter expected to last eight years. In 2014, the government appointed Louise Casey to conduct an inspection of Rotherham Council, published in January 2015. The Casey report concluded that the council was "not fit for purpose" and had a culture of bullying, sexism, covering up information and silencing whistleblowers. In February 2015 the government replaced the council's elected officers with a team of five commissioners.

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Kiveton Park Rural District

Kiveton Park was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from that part of the Worksop rural sanitary district which was in the West Riding – the rest going to form Worksop Rural District in Nottinghamshire and Clowne Rural District in Derbyshire. The rural district took its name from the village of Kiveton Park. The rural district originally comprised 11 civil parishes: Dinnington Firbeck Gildingwells Harthill with Woodall Letwell North and South Anston St Johns with Throapham Thorpe Salvin Todwick Wales Woodsetts In 1954 the number of parishes was reduced to 10 when Dinnington and St Johns with Throapham were merged to form Dinnington St John's. The district survived until 1974 when it was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972, becoming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire.

Rotherham

Rotherham ( RODH-ər-əm) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don. It is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. Before the Industrial Revolution, traditional industries included farming, glass making and flour milling. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, Rotherham became known for its coal mining and, later, steel industries. The town's historic county is Yorkshire, and Rotherham was once part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1974, this administrative county was abolished during a reorganisation of local government. Subsequently, Rotherham became part of the county of South Yorkshire, where it makes up one of four metropolitan boroughs. Rotherham had a population of 109,691 in the 2011 census. The borough had a 2024 population of 276,595, the 64th most populous district in England.

Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal

From the late 1980s until 2013, group-based child sexual exploitation affected an estimated 1,400 girls, commonly from care home backgrounds, in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Between 1997 and 2013, girls were abused by grooming gangs of predominantly Pakistani men. Researcher Angie Heal, who was hired by local officials and warned them about child exploitation occurring between 2002 and 2007, has since described it as the "biggest child protection scandal in UK history". In July 2025 investigations were being carried out into allegations that police officers had also raped child victims. Evidence of the abuse was first noted in the early 1990s, when care home managers investigated reports that children in their care were being picked up by taxi drivers. From at least 2001, multiple reports passed names of alleged perpetrators, several from one family, to the police and Rotherham Council. The first group conviction took place in 2010, when five British-Pakistani men were convicted of sexual offences against girls aged 12–16. From January 2011, The Times covered the issue, discovering that the abuse had been known by local authorities for over ten years. Following these reports, alongside the 2012 trial of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee conducted hearings and published its recommendations in six reports. Alexis Jay led an independent inquiry, known as the Jay report, which found multiple failings of the police and local authorities. Girls would be regularly taken in taxis to be abused, and were gang raped, forced to watch rape, threatened, and trafficked to other towns. The pregnancies, miscarriages, and terminations which resulted, caused further trauma to the victims. Most victims were White British girls but British Asian girls were also targeted. British Asian girls may have feared social isolation and dishonour had they reported their experiences. Failure to address the abuse has been linked to factors such as fear of racism allegations due to the perpetrators' ethnicity; sexist attitudes towards the mostly working-class victims; lack of a child-centred focus; a desire to protect the town's reputation; and lack of training and resources. Following the Jay report, Rotherham Council's chief executive, its director of children's services, as well as the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire Police all resigned. The Independent Police Complaints Commission and the National Crime Agency both opened inquiries. The Rotherham Council was also investigated, and found to be "not fit for purpose". Nineteen men and two women were convicted in 2016 and 2017 of sexual offences in the town dating back to the late 1980s.

Rotherham Minster

The Minster Church of All Saints or Rotherham Minster is the Anglican minster church of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The Minster is a prominent example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture and various architectural historians have rated it highly. Nikolaus Pevsner describes it as "one of the largest and stateliest churches in Yorkshire", Simon Jenkins states it is "the best work in the county", and Alec Clifton-Taylor calls it the "glory of Rotherham". With its tall spire, it is Rotherham's most predominant landmark, and amongst the tallest churches in Yorkshire. The church has been designated as Grade I listed since 1951 by Historic England and was granted Minster status in 2004. The minster is also one of two parish churches to have minster status in South Yorkshire, the other being Doncaster Minster.