The full timeline of the grooming gangs scandal in Yorkshire

As the grooming gangs scandal hits headlines once again, here is the full timeline of what happened in Yorkshire.

2001: Names of taxi drivers who allegedly picked up girls from care homes in Rotherham to abuse them are passed to the police and council from 2001. No action is taken.

2002: Dr Angie Heal starts working at South Yorkshire Police as a strategic drugs analyst, and writes three reports highlighting how drugs are being used to sexually abuse children in Rotherham and Sheffield.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

2002: The office of Adele Gladman, in a Rotherham Council building, is burgled and files and computer records stolen. The solicitor had raised concerns about child sexual exploitation with both the council and South Yorkshire Police but was ignored.

2003: Ann Cryer talks publicly about allegations of Asian men grooming underage white girls in Keighley. She was ridiculed, branded a racist, a liar and a fantasist.

2004: A Channel 4 documentary on claims that young white girls are being groomed for sex in Bradford by Asian men is delayed. It eventually airs three months later.

2010: Five people are convicted at Sheffield Crown Court for sexually abusing children in Rotherham. These are the first grooming gang prosecutions in the town, and happen while Sir Keir Starmer is director of public prosecutions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

2011: Times journalist Andrew Norfolk begins investigating child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

The outside play area for a children's centre in Rotherham. Credit: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty ImagesThe outside play area for a children's centre in Rotherham. Credit: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
The outside play area for a children's centre in Rotherham. Credit: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images | AFP via Getty Images

2011: A girl abused by a grooming gang in Huddersfield writes a letter to a judge about her abuse. Victims and their families say they previously told authorities but nothing was done.

2014: The Jay Report, into grooming gangs in Rotherham, finds 1,400 children were sexually abused between 1997 and 2013.

2015: A review by Baroness Casey into Rotherham Council’s handling of child sexual exploitation finds the council had a bullying and sexist culture of cover ups and silencing whistleblowers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

2016: The first convictions are made by South Yorkshire Police under Operation Clover, which includes four members of the gun-toting, drug-dealing Hussain family who were said to have “owned” Rotherham.

2016: Rotherham Council sets up the Evolve Team, which has since been nationally recognised for bringing together children’s services, the police, health professionals and youth justice services to tackle child sexual exploitation.

2018: Twenty men, predominantly of Pakistani descent, are convicted of 120 rape and abuse offences against 15 girls in Huddersfield. They are sentenced to 221 years in prison.

2022: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse by Professor Alexis Jay publishes its recommendations which are still to be taken up by Tory and Labour governments.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

2024: Operation Stovewood - run by the National Crime Agency and South Yorkshire Police - the country’s largest child sexual exploitation investigation, into grooming gangs in Rotherham, successfully prosecutes another 11 men.

2025: Elon Musk starts hurling abuse at Sir Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips on social media, after the Government turns down Oldham Council’s request for a national inquiry.

2025: Yvette Cooper announces a £10 million plan to tackle grooming gangs and child sexual abuse, including a three-month “rapid audit” of the current situation across the country and “victim-centred, locally-led inquiries” in five areas.

News you can trust since 1754
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice