Two groups of Somali men have been found guilty of grooming and sexually exploiting under-age girls in Bristol.
It follows Operation Brooke, the largest investigation into child sexual exploitation in Avon and Somerset Police’s history.
In two separate trials, 13 men were found guilty of charges including rape, paying for sex with a child, and arranging for that sex to happen.
In total, there were six victims. The youngest was just 13 years old and lived at home with her mother.
Operation Brooke One:
Six men were convicted in the first ‘Operation Brooke’ trial this summer. The media is only now able to report its details after court restrictions were lifted.
The jury heard how a 16-year-old girl from outside Bristol was placed in the Easton area of the city by her home-town’s social services team and a housing provider.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had a history of drug-taking and prostitution. Easton has some of the highest rates for prostitution and drug dealing in the West Country...
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Operation Brooke Two:
Four schoolgirls were targeted by a group of Somali men. Each of the victims was eventually raped. None of the girls was in care – they each lived at home.
One of the victims, a 14-year-old, was persuaded to have sex with three of the groomer, Mohamed Jumale’s, friends because she was told it was ‘a Somali custom’ to pass girls around between friends...
More -
https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2014-11-27/13-men-convicted-of-child-exploitation-offences-in-bristol
