Children convicted of prostitution when they were victims of grooming gangs could have criminal records quashed

CHILDREN convicted of prostitution when they were victims of grooming gangs could have their criminal records quashed.

The law has changed to recognise that under-18s in these cases were sexually exploited themselves.

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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday: “The law has changed but there are still people who have been convicted of crimes where they were being exploited, they were the victim of the most horrendous exploitation and they were children.

“Although the law has changed now around prostitution laws, the idea of treating somebody who was a child as a prostitute when they were being exploited, when they were the victim of the most horrendous exploitation including sexual exploitation and rape I think is wrong.

“The law has changed, we now need to look at the action we need to take to make sure that those historic cases are addressed and people don’t carry round those criminal records for the rest of their lives for outdated laws and for things that happened in their childhood when they were being exploited.”

The Home Secretary had asked all police forces in England and Wales to review historic cases which had been closed with no further action taken.

As a result almost 300 cases have been referred to a national taskforce to be reexamined.

The Government has refused to open a full national inquiry into grooming gangs, such as those uncovered in Rochdale and Rotherham.

Instead, at least five local inquiries will take place to establish why and how children were able to be sexually exploited.

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