The leader of the British government on Sunday announced plans to put authorities with the nation’s top organized crime agency on the so called “grooming gangs scandal,” in which more than 1,000 children were sexually abused over a 16-year period, according to multiple media reports.
An inquiry in 2014 found that 1,400 children, primarily white girls from working-class families, in Northern England were subjected to sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013, Reuters reported.
In the inquiry, officials reported that most of the perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage.
According to Retuers, many local officials and agencies had been worried about identifying ethnic origins out of fear of appearing racist and causing rifts within local communities.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who, according to the Independent, has been criticized for refusing to commit to a new inquiry, reportedly requested that Louise Casey, a member of Britain’s upper house of parliament, perform another audit, which is expected to be released tomorrow.
Starmer also said the National Crime Agency will be tasked with tracking down perpetrators who may have eluded investigators and prosecution.
The agency was expected to use much of the work police investigators had built up, reopening “over 800 historic cases,” Reuters reported.
“The vulnerable young girls, who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of groups of adult men, have now grown into brave women who are rightly demanding justice,” Yvette Cooper, Britain’s interior minister, said in a statement. “Not enough people listened to them then. That was wrong and unforgivable. We are changing that now.”
