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Charity says 'insufficient action' taken over Aylesbury abuse concerns

Concerns about one of two schoolgirls repeatedly abused by a gang of men in Aylesbury were raised several years before they were arrested, a children’s charity has said.

Barnados told the BBC they worked with the victims in 2008 and referred the case of one to appropriate agencies but 'insufficient action" was taken.

Six members of a child sex ring in Aylesbury were found guilty at the Old Bailey of their part in the horrifying abuse of two schoolgirls which went on for years on a massive scale

A total of 11 men went on trial for 51 offences between 2006 and 2012. Four defendants were cleared, while the jury could not decide on one of them.

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Young girls 'spoke of their abusers as boyfriends'

Both child victims of an Aylesbury sex ring came from troubled backgrounds and were described during the trial as "easy prey" for abuse.

While aged 12 or 13, one of the vulnerable girls - named A during the trial - was passed between 60 mostly Asian men after being conditioned to think it was normal, the jury heard.

Most of the charges in the trial related to child A, while three charges related to child B. Both were groomed with gifts such as alcohol, DVDs, food and, occasionally, drugs.

Prosecutor Oliver Saxby QC told jurors the girls' idea of what was right had been "completely distorted", meaning they thought the abuse was "normal" and "natural".

He added that the children "spoke in terms of these men being their boyfriends" and were "passed from man to man - sometimes on a daily basis".

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Charity says 'insufficient action' taken over Aylesbury abuse concerns

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