Britain: Pedophile network abuses 1.000 children

A pedophile ring in central England abused up to 1.000 girls, some of them 11 years old, over a period of 40 years, the Sunday Mirror reported. As part of the operation of one of the worst pedophile networks in modern British history, children were lured by their families with baits, then drugged, beaten and raped, the article describes.

Lawyer Lucy Allan described the newspaper's findings as "extremely serious and shocking" and called for a public inquiry. "I will raise the issue with the ministers in parliament and I will use every possible way to ensure that the facts become known," she wrote on her blog.

The Mirror wrote that social services, teachers and mental health workers were aware of the case and did not inform the police.

West Mercia police said they were taking the case "extremely seriously", but the information published by the Mirror was not new and had emerged from several cases, including an operation by authorities in 2013.

"This was one of the first complex and critical investigations into allegations of child molestation," Martin Evans, the deputy police chief, said in a statement. "It focuses on Telford and Rekin and has resulted in the sentencing of seven men to a total of 7 years in prison."

The British newspaper wrote that a schoolgirl became pregnant six times in a period of 4 years.

"I was told that if I said a word to anyone they would come and grab my younger sisters and tell my mother I was a prostitute," a 14-year-old girl told the Mirror.

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