In an explosive revelation that has sent shockwaves through the UK, victims of the Rotherham grooming gang scandal are now accusing police officers themselves of rape, sexual exploitation, and actively helping to cover up crimes. The alleged abuses stretch back decades and paint a disturbing picture of systemic failure and corruption within South Yorkshire Police (SYP).
At least five women have come forward, telling investigators that they were raped not only by the predominantly Pakistani-Muslim grooming gangs that operated in Rotherham, but also by the very officers who were supposed to protect them. These claims suggest a nightmarish betrayal of trust, where law enforcement not only failed to act but allegedly joined in the abuse.
One survivor, who remains anonymous, said she was abused by hundreds of men starting at age 11 in 1997. Among them, she alleges, was Police Constable Hassan Ali and another unnamed officer. She claims Ali raped her in a police car and used gang members to threaten her into compliance. “I would rather be raped once, or give one man oral sex, than to be taken somewhere where I know it’d be 15… 20 guys one after another,” she told the BBC. That, she said, was “just easier.”
Her horror didn’t end there. After being forced into an illegal abortion, social services and police contacted her about her situation—only to send one of her alleged abusers to interview her. She said he destroyed her statement in front of her. No action was ever taken.
PC Hassan Ali, who was under investigation at the time, died in a car crash in 2015 on the very day he was placed on restricted duty. Other officers have since been arrested on suspicion of rape and misconduct, but none have been charged. Meanwhile, victims continue to demand justice.
The most appalling part? The investigation into these shocking new claims is being led by South Yorkshire Police themselves—the very force at the heart of the scandal. Many, including the original whistleblower and lead investigator Professor Alexis Jay, are calling foul. Jay’s 2014 report revealed that at least 1,400 children were groomed, raped, and trafficked in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013 while authorities looked the other way.
Now, Jay says the SYP cannot credibly investigate itself. “In far too many cases, the priority for the institution… is to protect their reputation rather than prioritizing the welfare of children,” she said. She’s demanding the case be turned over to an outside force or His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.
David Greenwood, a solicitor representing victims, echoed her concern. “I don’t have any faith that officers aren’t still covering up evidence or deliberately failing to find it,” he warned.
This scandal already represented one of the worst failures in modern British policing. But if the allegations of direct police involvement in the abuse are confirmed, it would mark a level of institutional rot that goes far beyond incompetence—it would be active, criminal collusion.
Despite a previous £6 million, eight-year inquiry by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, no officer was punished. Now, with new testimony and renewed public pressure, that may finally change.
But the question remains: how many more years, how many more survivors, and how many more destroyed lives will it take before real accountability arrives?