The case of Jessica was one of those Rotherham Child Sex Abuse cases reported by Andrew Norfolk in the Times. Jessica claims that when she was abducted from a Children’s Services foster home her abductor and sexual abuser was allowed to go free, un-prosecuted. She further alleged that his freedom resulted from a deal done by former Councillor Jahangir Akhtar to secure a non-prosecution deal in return for her release.
The perpetrator, Ash Hussain, was a close family friend of Akhtars, so close that once when in hospital he named Akhtars address as his home.
She stated that when she was handed over to Police Akhtar was stood nearby and that is was probably Akhtar who arranged for her abuser to be taken home.
Publicly Akhtar focused on the Police assessing whether or not he had done anything illegal despite it never being suggested by the Times that he hsd donr. The allegation was culpability not illegality.
In his version his only involvement was giving the telephone number of the abusers mother of to the Police.
This does beg a few questions;
1. – Which Policeman contacted Akhtar and how did he know of his relationship with the abuser?
2. – Did Akhtar just pass over the mother’s number without questioning what it was about?
3. – Did he discuss it with the mother or Hussain afterwards?
4. – Why do others finger Akhtar as being there?
There doesn’t seem to be any argument about the girl being handed over in a service station. Something in itself that is quite bizarre and a little dramatic; normally a hot potato would be handed over quickly, dropped in town, or outside a police station.
So unusual is the hand over and the failure to prosecute it suggests that a deal was done and more questions need to be asked.
5. – At what level in SYP was the decision to not arrest and prosecute made?
This last question is very important. A policeman or woman, maybe more than one, made a decision to pardon the perpetrator of a clearly committed offence . More questions:
6. Was there a process to decide when and when not to prosecute in these types or case and was it applied?
7. – Was the police officer /s authorised to make that decision?
8. – Was the case referred to the CPS?
It is frankly hard to believe that some deal wasn’t done, and difficult to believe that someone with Akhtars ego would leave it to the perpetrators mum.
AS important is that Akhtar never used or advised the Council of his personal knowledge and experience when later he became a Councillor….
When the Police found that Akhtar had not broken the law on this occasion they did not give an alternative view of the event.
Of course if the Police themselves were breaking the law, Akhtar would anyway have had the defence of simply doing what he was asked. He shelters behinds the Polices own guilt.
The fact is that the Police should never have investigated themselves.
