VIDEO - Child sex abuse trial: "Verdicts are first step in learning from mistakes"

THE DETECTIVE in charge of the child sex abuse case which concluded with the conviction of three men and two women yesterday has said the trial is “the first step in learning from mistakes in how the police deal with CSE.”

Temporary Det Chief Insp Martin Tate, the senior investigating officer in the case, praised the bravery of the victims and thanked them for their help in investigating the horrific abuse.

Temp Det Chief Insp Tate said: “I am very pleased for the victims and that they have finally got justice.

“The amount of trauma they suffered is unbelievable and we asked them to put their trust in us and I am very grateful they did.

“This is the first step in learning from the mistakes in how the police deal with CSE. We asked the victims to put their trust in us and that was difficult but they did and I am very grateful for that.

“We always look at how we investigate crime and how well we do things. This investigation is very much the start of trying to take the new way of handling CSE forward.”

Temp Det Chief Insp Tate said the alleged involvement in the abuse of police officers, detectives, and councillors did not make the investigation more difficult.

He said: “There are a lot of live investigations into what happened by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). My responsibility is to look at a case and move it forward.

"Any person involved in my investigation, who is suspected of having committed a criminal offence, whatever their occupation or position, is looked at in exactly the same way.”

South Yorkshire's police and crime commissioner Dr Alan Billings said the trial had once again put Rotherham “at the centre of a firestorm”.

Dr Billings said: “I am very pleased for the victims and survivors because the trial was very complex with no forensic evidence. The case was completely reliant on the statements from witnesses and victims.

“Today can never recover the women's lost childhoods or erase their terrible memories of the years of abuse.

“Naturally, the media has turned its attention back to Rotherham again but I think today is the beginning of more trials. I promised the people of Rotherham there would be people in court for CSE when I was elected and this is just the start.”

Peter Mann, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said it would be more hiring more prosecutors to deal with future CSE trials expected over the next 12 months.

He said: “I am very pleased for the victims. 12 young women have had the courage and confidence to come forward to the police to say what happened a number of years ago.

“I am also pleased they had the courage and bravery to come forwards to court and that they have seen their abusers found guilty.

“I hope that anyone in Rotherham that has been a victim of sexual abuse can now feel more confident as a result of this verdict. I hope they will feel they can come forward, they will be listened to and will be believed and that the police and CPS will build a strong case in order to take the matter further.”