Police act to stop 'sexual grooming' of girls

A huge operation to stop teenage girls in Telford becoming victims of sexual exploitation was launched today.

The crackdown will see borough police officers travel to Holland to see how police there deal with child sex exploitation and trafficking of young girls.

It comes as a series of helplines were launched today for parents across the borough to get help if they fear their daughter may have become a victim.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards, of Telford police, urged parents to be aware of the signs that their teenage daughter may be being groomed by older men.

He said the victims were often approached outside schools or under-16 discos and were befriended by older men. The men then give the girls a mobile phone and spoil them with expensive gifts, including jewellery and clothes, he said.

The victims, white girls aged between 13 and 16, believe the men are their boyfriends, he said. The grooming, known as "the loverboy process" in Holland, sees the girls being groomed until the point where they have sex with several other men.

Mr Edwards said he hoped the campaign would help parents to recognise the signs and stop their daughters being exploited.

He said: "If a parent is worried their daughter is going missing and they don't know where she is, she is hanging around with older men who they may not know and she has had a new mobile phone from someone or if there is behavioural changes, they should get some advice.

"What we have found is that the girls are being recruited from schools and teenage discos.

"We are building up a picture from these places that the men are looking for vulnerable young girls aged 13 to 16. We are dealing with it in our area but we believe it may be happening around the whole of the country."

Mr Edwards said missing children should be reported to the police and that would give officers the chance to investigate the circumstances and motivation behind the disappearance.

He added the girls were then treatened and become too scared to speak out.

People can call (01952) 385700 or (01952) 676500 out of hours for advice.

By Crime Correspondent Kirsty Smallman