In Bristol, young girls in care became targets of a Somali prostitution network, with five victims aged between 13 and 17, two of whom were siblings, subjected to abuse.
In 2011, two Bristol City Grooming Gang members checked into a Premier Inn hotel and subsequently raped a 13-year-old schoolgirl three times.
Some of the girls were so severely groomed that they perceived the sexual abuse they endured as a normative aspect of affectionate relationships.
They were groomed to believe that having sex with their boyfriend’s friends was part of their ‘culture and tradition’.
The victims, described as ‘vulnerable’ due to their age and circumstances, were paid as little as £30 or given drugs, alcohol and gifts to perform sex acts on older men.
Abuse of one girl, which lasted a horrific five months, only ended when police entered a property after social workers raised concerns about the teenager.
There she was found crying in a cupboard under the kitchen sink wearing only her underwear, the court was told at the time.
A total of 13 men of the Bristol City Grooming Gang were convicted of charges including rape, sexual activity with a child, facilitating child prostitution, trafficking, paying for the sexual services of a child and drug offences.
Mustapha Farah, Liban Abdi, Arafat Osman, Abdulahi Aden, Mustafa Deira, Idleh Osman, Sakariah Sheik, Jusuf Abdirizak, Abdirashid Abdulahi, Omar Jumale and Mohamed Dahir were all handed jail terms between two and 13 years.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.