16 SEPTEMBER 2013
Belfast Telegraph
Some children have been plied with drugs or alcohol and
trafficked around Northern Ireland in taxis for sexual exploitation, senior
police said. A total of 22 suspected victims have been identified and more than
30 people arrested as part of a major investigation into potential organized
crime.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has called in
experts from other parts of the UK - including those involved in a probe into
child abuse in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Assistant chief constable Mark Hamilton said: "We see
children who are taken to parties and who are offered drugs for free, and then
at some point have to pay that back through sexual acts."
A senior detective revealed up to fifty suspects have been
identified and arrests made in each case.
A number of individuals have been charged, some with
non-sexual offences such as drug crimes.
Most of those targeted lived in residential care homes at
the time of incidents but the allegations relate to periods when they were not
in the facilities, such as on nights-out when they failed to return.
Some suspected victims went missing 137 times from January
2011 to last summer, when a wide-ranging police investigation was launched, Mr
Hamilton said.
Boys and girls have allegedly both been targeted.
Mr Hamilton added: "Many children are offered
friendship, care, love and presents and accept drugs. Some are then threatened
and it can be a progressive set of criminality."
He told Stormont assembly members: "We have some
evidence of children being put in taxis and sent to another town for the
purposes of attending a party or meeting other people. That has the hallmarks
of trafficking."
In some cases, the internet has made children more
accessible to predators.
The PSNI is engaging in broader analysis.
"We are now looking at today's offences and bringing in
a new approach to child sexual exploitation," the senior officer added.
Members of Greater Manchester Police have been drafted in to
provide advice.
Sexual exploitation in itself is not a criminal offence,
unlike grooming or assaults. It is an umbrella term for this kind of behaviour.
Please pray for these children. Join my Save A Child by 3:15 PM prayer group.
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