Social worker 'attended wedding of girl, 15, to abuser' as grooming hell revealed in damning Bradford report

A SOCIAL worker attended the wedding of a 15-year-old grooming victim to her abuser, a damning report found.

The teen – referred to as 'Anna' – told the review how she was left with the fiend's family in a state of "domestic slavery".

She was regularly abused by dozens of men and became "entirely reliant" on his family, who even received a foster care allowance.

Anna was placed in residential care as a teenager in 2002 but went missing more than 70 times, according to the report.

She is one of five girls detailed in the review who "suffered abuse no child should have to experience" in West Yorkshire over 20 years.

The report heard how Anna gave a harrowing account of how she was groomed and raped to a project in Bradford specialising in prostitution.

But they did not inform police or social workers due to client confidentially.

'NO PROTECTION'

When she turned 15, she told a project worker she converted to Islam and married her older Asian "boyfriend" in a Sharia law ceremony.

The report found there was "collusion" by her social worker, who "allegedly attended the ceremony and assessed that her marriage was likely to reduce the risks incurred when Anna was missing".

Even when she fell pregnant, the vulnerable youngster was placed with the family of her "husband" as a foster child.

But she was sexually exploited and suffered domestic violence at the hands of her so-called carers.

The report said: "This placement did not protect Anna from harm but did in fact place her at greater risk and made her entirely dependent on them."

Anna said repeated social services assessments were carried out "but nothing ever acted on, and I was failed for more than two decades".

'I WAS FRIGHTENED TO LEAVE'

She added: "I was 15, but the authorities thought it was in the best interest and to minimise the severity of my absconding and placed me in a foster care placement while being fully aware with the parents of my abuser.

"We had no similarities in race, religion or culture and I continued be subject to domestic violence and was subject to a coercive controlling sexual relationship with a known perpetrator.

"I was frightened to leave, in fear of an honour-based killing."

The independent report was launched after nine men of Pakistani heritage were caged over the sexual exploitation of girls who had been in Bradford Council's care.

The Bradford Partnership, which includes Bradford Council Children's services and Bradford Police, have since apologised for failing to protect youngsters from child sex exploitation.

They said "significant changes" had been made and a large number of defendants have been found guilty and sentenced to substantial prison sentences.

But they added: "We fully accept more needs to be done which is why, along with recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring our children are safe will be the partnership's number one priority.

"We believe that practice across all agencies is improving and that we have learnt from the mistakes made in the past but there is much more to do."

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