Justice for Survivors: Further Rochdale Grooming Gang Convictions Signal Turning Point

Long-awaited justice was dealt last week to seven men involved in Rochdale grooming gangs. On 13 June 2025 at Manchester Crown Court, the men were found guilty of a total of 50 offences between 2001 and 2006.

During the trial, it was heard how the men had targeted their victims, both aged 13 when the abuse began, by preying upon their vulnerable position. Many of those involved in such gangs are thought to have worked as taxi drivers, treating girls to car rides, gifts and money. At this point, the girls would then be plied with alcohol or drugs and pressured to perform sexual acts in exchange. 

Often, once the abuse had begun, such gangs would trade the girls like a commodity, using and abusing them as ‘sex slaves’. In this particular gang, both girls also worked at the market stall of one of the men, who held a position of authority over them. 

As Liz Fell, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS commented, the treatment of these girls ‘was nothing short of appalling’. Both girls came from vulnerable backgrounds and were known to social services, while one was living in the local authority’s care. 

These convictions, the result of Greater Manchester Police’s Operation Lytton task force, which began in 2023, is only the latest in what promises to be a turning point in the campaign to bring offenders to justice. 

At least 20 men also formerly active in the Rochdale area are expected to go on trial in September this year. Meanwhile, the Government has also now taken a landmark step towards preventing future similar abuse by grooming gangs. Keir Starmer, in response to mounting scrutiny, has now agreed to launch a nationwide inquiry into these gangs. 

Previously, the Jay Report of 2022 recommended 20 steps to prevent gangs, like those convicted in Rochdale, ever being active again, but these steps have yet to be implemented fully.

However, the Baroness Casey Review, which was published earlier this week and investigates gang-based sexual exploitation of children, has called for a nationwide inquiry into tackling such abusers. 

Casey has emphasised the need to ‘crack on’ with a national reset on how gangs are dealt with, urging all those who might have been victims to make their story known so lessons can be learned. Hopefully, meaningful action will follow, presenting an opportunity for survivors to finally be heard.  The enquiry should also allow for further attention to be directed to gangs operating elsewhere in England, including Telford, Oldham and Rotherham.

The key message appears to be one of action, not promises, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper reiterating that, for those who were preyed upon by such gangs, ‘words are not enough’. Similarly, a Lancashire councillor, Azhar Ali, has emphasised the need to fast-track such an inquiry. 

In light of these developments, Jordans Solicitors would like to echo the words of Greater Manchester Police spokesperson Steph Parker in stating that ‘time is no barrier to justice’. Gangs such as those now facing prosecution in Rochdale may once have operated freely, but it is only by having the bravery to come forward that survivors can ensure justice is done.