Police returned a grooming gang victim who was raped and sexually abused by at least 50 men as a child back to her attackers after she mistakenly told them she was an adult. Fiona Goddard was 14 and living in a children's home in Bradford when the abuse began in the late 2000s.
Ordeal Across the UK
What started with a simple request for a lighter escalated into a horrific ordeal, with the survivor trafficked to locations across the UK, including Blackburn, Rotherham, Rochdale, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Oldham. Two years after the grooming began, when she was 16, police tracked her down to a property in Bradford.
Inside, officers found seven men of Pakistani heritage, some half-dressed, sitting in a squalid living room strewn with drugs and empty alcohol bottles. Officers placed Ms Goddard in the back of a police car, but having been given large quantities of drugs and alcohol, she mistakenly informed them she was 18.
Returned to Abusers
Despite being listed on police records as an under-age victim of child sexual exploitation, officers returned her to the very property from which they had just rescued her. As they dropped Ms Goddard back at the address, one officer told her abusers: "She says she's over-age – enjoy your night, lads".
Nine men were jailed in February 2019 at Bradford Crown Court after being convicted of sexual offences against Goddard. In total, the Bradford gang were jailed for a total of 132 years.
Release of Abusers
However, Mohammed Usman, one of her abusers, was released from prison on August 24. Ms Goddard previously said she "cannot pretend" that Usman has faced justice after serving 50% of his 15-year sentence, adding that five more of her abusers will also be released over the next 12 months.
Ms Goddard resigned from the grooming gangs inquiry in October 2025 over concerns that two of the shortlisted chairs had backgrounds in policing and social services. The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield, will require individuals and institutions to explain what they "did or did not do to protect children from being sexually abused".
Police Involvement Revealed
Analysis has now revealed that at least 60 police officers were involved in the grooming gang - either actively or by ignoring the sex crimes. The Network Map details the level of interconnection between groups who sexually exploit children, criminal gangs, extended families, establishments and "notable individuals", including councillors and police officers. The researchers who compiled the report have chosen to remain anonymous because they fear retaliation by the gangs.
