Sammy: Rotherham Council should have had my back

Sammy (pictured) waived her anonymity for a second time to expose care system failings after Arshid Hussain — jailed in 2016 for sexually abusing her and eight other girls — was offered by the council the chance to apply for parental rights over her son, which he decided against.

“I know I am not the only person this has happened to in Rotherham,” said Sammy.

Sammy, who gave birth aged 15 after being groomed and abused by Arshid, said it was still unclear whether it was Rotherham Council who was in the wrong, or the law and has welcomed an investigation into how her case has been handled.

“Rotherham Council has got their guidelines, the Ministry of Justice has got completely different views — the law does not know the law,” she said.

But Sammy said during last year’s family court proceedings she “just wanted the council to have her back” because she had it in writing that Hussain was a risk to her son.

“Regardless of what the law states, what my issue is, that man (Hussain) is a risk to me and my son and he should have never been told any information whatsoever about me,” said Sammy.

The 33-year-old said she had decided to go public with the story and waive her anonymity “to make as much noise as possible” after battling for months to get answers.

“I have been raising this with the Government, the Home Office and with ministers since March,” she said.

“I felt like nothing has been happening, which is why I went to The Times journalist Andrew Norfolk.”

The national newspaper initially published her story without naming Sammy or Rotherham Council for legal reasons.

Sammy said she waived her anonymity after getting her son’s permission, adding: “The court case was also finished, this is in the public interest and I thought; ‘I’m fortunate to have a platform, if this can happen to me think what’s happening to all the women out there with no voice’.”

She added: “What I have learnt is, if you want something to happen you go to the media — but it shouldn’t be like that.”

The mother, who is now a campaigner, said she was “sick” of having to retell her abuse to get justice.

“When I applied for a passport for my son I was told I had to have his father’s permission. I then had to go into detail about my abuse. I’ve asked for a shake-up of the passport service as well.”

Sammy has joined forces with shadow policing and crime minister Louise Haigh to call on the Government to amend the law — and her change.org petition gained more than 246,000 signatures in 12 hours which she said has been “overwhelming”.

Sammy said: “A simple amendment to the Children’s Act would ban any male with a child conceived by rape from applying for access or rights.”

She added: “I am also asking for a complete overhaul of family law courts.”