SYP Chief Constable still considering pardon for CSE campaigner Sammy Woodhouse

The law change proposed by Rotherham campaigner Sammy Woodhouse calls for CSE victims to be pardoned for crimes committed under the grasp of groomers.

Currently, anyone has the right to apply to the chief constable of their force area to have their records reviewed.

Despite publicly backing Sammy’s Law, South Yorkshire Chief Constable, Stephen Watson, has not pardoned Sammy for her offences.

These include assault and possession of an offensive weapon, which she was charged with aged around 15 during the period she was being abused by child sex grooming gang ringleader Arshid Hussain.

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said Mr Watson continued to support Sammy’s Law and a further meeting was due to take place in the next couple of weeks.

She added: “Whilst the central proposition is very compelling, there are a number of complex, practical impediments to progress and we remain keen to assist Sammy in overcoming these obstacles.”

The force would not comment on what the obstacles were. 

Speaking in the House of Commons last week, Ms Haigh urged the Government to bring forward Sammy’s Law.

Ms Haigh added: “Judges in the High Court have already ruled that forcing victims of CSE (child sexual exploitation) to disclose past convictions linked to that CSE is unjust. 

“They argued that any link between the past offending and assessment of present risk in a particular employment is either non-existent, or at best extremely tenuous.

“One of the single biggest tasks of this Parliament and society is to create an environment where victims of CSE are given the best possible chance of not allowing their past abuse to define them.

“Will the Minister consider bringing forward what’s known as Sammy’s Law — the right of victims of CSE to have their criminal records automatically reviewed and crimes associated to their grooming reviewed?

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office, Victoria Atkins, answered: “We are committed to working across Government to ensure victims can move on from the abuse they have suffered and that professionals, including the police, who come into contact with the victim, recognise exploitation when they see it and respond appropriately.”

Ms Haigh replied: “These victims are not only forced to live with their trauma but also convictions linked to their sexual exploitation in childhood. 

“They are blighted by an obligation to disclose criminal convictions linked to past abuse; forced to tell employers, and even local PTAs about their past convictions. 

“This punitive rule means they simply cannot escape a past in which they were victims.”