Retribution: For the Children of Telford

Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all–H.W. Longfellow, Retribution

Many years ago, a family friend served as a policewoman in the “West Mercia Constabulary” a division of the British police force covering my home counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire, and Shropshire.  (Also many years ago, what passed for wokesters at the time decided that “West Mercia” (an ancient, perhaps mythical Arthurian territorial designation) was a bridge too far, and changed it to the “[Simplified Something] Constabulary.”  Then, they decided that the real offense was caused by the word “Constabulary,” so they reverted the first part, changing the whole to “West Mercia Police,” and there it stands to this day.)

Anyhoo, this family friend worked in the data gathering and tracking section of the force, and as such, among other things she was responsible for tallying up, and following up on, the matters of child sexual abuse (CSA), and child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the region.

It broke her.  Not the ugly events, although they were bad enough.  But the police reaction to them.  She left the force.  In fact, she left the country.

I remember another friend telling me–decades ago now–that the problem was endemic to the region, that it went so much further than anyone knew, and that nothing was being done about it for fear of offending certain special interest groups.

And yet.

A unlikely and verray parfit gentil knyght has emerged. And he seems to have found his lady.

Mark Steyn, host of his very own GBNews show (the UK’s answer to Tucker, I think), has been relentless on this matter for months.  Rotherham.  Rochedale.  And now, Telford.  (Just as he has been after the UK government to make good on its promises to the “vaccine-injured.”  With considerable success.)

Although the government-commissioned Telford (Shropshire) investigation wasn’t of Steyn’s doing, its findings today support his reporting and his interviews with Samantha Smith, a brave young woman who’s told her story on GBNews. (48 hours after going on Steyn’s show last week, the West Mercia Police were banging on her front door and demanding to know what she knew, and telling her they had a “duty” to follow up because she’d been talking about them on television.  This after years of knowing about her case and doing almost nothing.)

Today, the government report on the Telford situation was released, and it’s horrific.  Per The Telegraph:

More than a thousand girls were sexually abused by gangs of Asian men in Telford while police dropped cases like a “hot potato” for fear of inflaming racial tensions, a damning report has found.

An investigation – commissioned in 2018 – accused those whose job it was to protect children of repeatedly “turning a blind eye” and “ignoring obvious signs of child sexual exploitation”.

After “brainwashing them”, they then abused and raped them, issuing death threats if they threatened to expose the abuse.

Witnesses told an inquiry how West Mercia Police had appeared “frightened to question or challenge because they didn’t want to have the finger pointed at them, saying they were being racist.

In some cases, the children themselves were blamed for the abuse and accused of being prostitutes. [Note: “white slags” seems to be the term of art.]

The lack of a response by the authorities only emboldened the perpetrators to continue the abuse, the report concluded.

Today, Samantha Smith, survivor, is a 20-year old law student.  And she’s been discovered by The Telegraph:

Waiving her anonymity, the 20-year-old law student told The Telegraph: “I was sexually abused by multiple men throughout my childhood at different stages and groomed.

“I was five when it started and it carried until I was 14.

I didn’t come forward about my abuse until I was 16 at which point the police at the Child Sexual Exploitation team in West Mercia Police became involved but my case was dismissed and no further action was taken.

“Throughout when I was interviewed about it … I remember being asked whether I consented to sexual activity. Whether it was something I consented to. But I was underage, a child can’t consent no matter how mature an adult believes them to be, they can’t, the burden shouldn’t fall on a child to consent to being abused.

Victims like Lucy Lowe [burned to death by her groomer, the mother of their child (who she bore when she was 14) along with her sister and her mother] who never got a chance to get justice–so it’s all about keeping these stories at the forefront of public consciousness so they cannot be downplayed again, so girls aren’t being turned a blind eye to, so children that are growing up don’t have to suffer in silence.”

Mercifully, Lucy Lowe’s murderer is in jail.  (For murder, not for child sex crimes.) Some might consider that “justice,” but apparently Samantha Smith does not.

And I think I agree with her.

PS: Steyn’s competition on weeknights is Piers Morgan, on TalkTV, Rupert Murdoch’s UK venture.  Mark is clobbering him.   Please do what you can to improve the odds even further.