How the Rochdale grooming gang victims were let down by the authorities that were meant to keep them safe

VULNERABLE girls who were left to be preyed upon by a sickening gang of sex traffickers were let down by so many.

Teenage victims in Rochdale - whose stories are told in the new BBC series Three Girls - were failed by their police force, their community and their social workers.

Monstrous ringleader Shabir Ahmed and eight others were jailed for their crimes.

But many others whose incompetence allowed the abuse to happen, and who showed cowardice when the scandal was exposed, are free.

We take a look at how leaders in Rochdale's community failed to help the vulnerable girls until it was too late, and shirked responsibility as Britain was left horrified by the victims' ordeal.

Roger Ellis

Roger Ellis was the chief executive of Rochdale Council when a grooming gang terrorised the streets, sexually abusing young and vulnerable girls.

When the torment of the victims finally emerged in 2012, the council was rocked by scandal after the utter failure of its workers to listen to victims was exposed.

But instead of staying on to right the wrongs of his reign, Mr Ellis quit his job at the height of the scandal.

Incredibly he pocketed almost £77,000 of taxpayers' money and left the victims of sickening abuse to fend for themselves before their fight for justice could even begin.

When it emerged that he had taken such a large sum through early retirement at the age of 58, Ellis was slammed by a House of Commons report into the sexual abuse that had rocked Rochdale while under his watch.

It read: "Early retirement or resignation for other reasons should not allow them to evade responsibility and they must be held to account.

"In particular, we are deeply shocked by Roger Ellis receiving £76,798.20 in redundancy payout.

"He should be required to repay it."

Despite calls for Mr Ellis to pay the money back, he never did.

Zainul Jafferji and Rajiv Sharma

During the grooming gang's fight against deportation, they were defended by lawyers Zainul Jafferji and Rajiv Sharma.

The taxpayer-funded duo, who are thought to earn £70 an hour, were slammed by a judge overseeing the case for constantly "obstructing" proceedings.

The pair were accused of repeatedly doing everything they could to delay proceedings, and treating the immigration tribunal with "sustained and marked disrespect".

Justice McCloskey, President of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, even said their actions weakened the rule of law.

He added: “The conduct of these appeals has been cavalier and unprofessional."

After the case in March the Solicitors Regulation Authority launched a probe into Nottingham-based law firm Burton and Burton.

Steve Garner

Steve Garner was the director of children's social services at Rochdale Council while the grooming scandal was unfolding.

Like his boss Mr Ellis, Mr Garner quit his post at the height of the scandal after his department was slammed by reports examining its handling of victim abuse.

But before leaving in disgrace, he even published a resignation letter reminiscing of the "fond memories" he had in the job.

Worse still, when a Home Affairs Select Committee hearing on the scandal requested he attend to give evidence, Mr Garner refused.

He claimed he was "too ill" to attend, inviting criticism from Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk.

Mr Danczuk said at the time: "If we’re going to rebuild social services so the public has faith in the council’s ability to protect vulnerable people we need to face up to what went wrong.

"That means people like Mr Garner should not be wriggling off the hook and sneaking away without facing up to their role in this scandal."

Lindsay Ellen Green

Lindsay Ellen Green was a social worker from 1985 to 2013 for Rochdale Council.

During that time, she "posed a significant risk to the welfare of the children and young people in this case" by failing to properly carry out her duties.

Eventually she was struck off by the Health and Care Professions Council’s conduct and competence committee, which found she had failed to visit vulnerable children.

She also did not carry out proper and extensive sexual exploitation risk assessments at the height of the grooming scandal.

Ms Green, like Mr Ellis and Mr Garner, quit her job in 2012.

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