'Child sex abusers above the law' - victims

One former officer asked why Operation Central in 2010 had only led to five grooming convictions, when intelligence established that they were just the tip of the iceberg.

About 80 perpetrators had been identified and the officer said: “I think as a police service we could have done a better job.

“I remember having a conversation with someone and I said: ‘What about everyone else on that chart?’ I was told: ‘We’ve got to cut it off somewhere’.”

The Casey report said: “Even when evidence and intelligence was available, police did not follow this through.

“From where victims stood, there seemed to be lawlessness in relation to CSE in Rotherham. Perpetrators seemed to face no consequences.”

Inspectors wondered if some of the inaction was rooted in South Yorkshire Police officers towards the victims.

Case files of a 13-year-old girl — referred to as K — who was being groomed and abused showed how professionals viewed her neither as a child nor a victim.

They said she had willingly gone to a man’s flat and consented to sexual activity. An investigation into whether she was at risk of harm placed responsibility for K’s behaviour squarely with her.

The Casey report added: “There were numerous occasions in which girls were not believed. They were threatened with wasting police time, told they had consented to sex and, on occasion, arrested at the scene of a crime, rather than the perpetrators.”

Operation Central was the only prosecution for sexual exploitation of girls between 1997 and 2013.

A police spokesman said: “We are absolutely committed to supporting victims but recognise that more needs to be done. Prosecuting offenders remains a top priority.”