Thirty-eight children in West Berkshire are 'at risk of abuse'

Scale of child sexual exploitation in district is revealed

MORE details surrounding the number of children at risk from sexual expolitation was revealed by West Berkshire Council’s health board last week.

It was first reported in January that five people in the district had either been charged or convicted of sexually exploiting a child since April 2014 and Thames Valley Police told the Newbury Weekly News that it was “a problem” for the area.

Speaking at a health and wellbeing board meeting in Newbury on Thursday, head of children and families services Dr Mac Heath presented the most up-to-date picture of the problem facing West Berkshire’s young people.

According to the council, across the district between 2014/15, 38 young people were considered to be at risk from child sexual exploitation (CSE), and all but one of these were female.

The ages range from 13 to 17 years, and just over half are aged between 15 and 16.

Of the 38 young people a little under half were considered to be at medium or high risk of CSE and one was classed as “White Other”, with the remaining 37 “White British”.

In a report to councillors and health bosses presented at the Newbury meeting, Dr Heath said: “West Berkshire is committed to ensuring that there is a strong multi-agency partnership which effectively works to safeguard children and young people who are being abused and those at risk of being exploited.

“We are committed to learning from other areas, but also to understanding the nature and prevalence of CSE locally.

“We are committed to supporting children to reduce the likelihood of them being involved in CSE, but also to ensuring that the risks of them being involved are identified, information is shared between agencies and action is taken to protect the child and disrupt or prosecute the perpetrators.”

The young people identified as at medium or high risk each attended schools throughout the district, but were “over-represented” in Pupil Referral Units, according to the council.

Following engagement with the CSE Operational Group, which conducted the profiling, 11 of the young people were considered Looked After Children – under the care of the local authority and three became subject to Child Protection Plans.

Of the 38 young people profiled, 78 per cent had been reported missing, 72 per cent were known to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and 55 per cent had self-harmed.

Fifty-five per cent had experienced domestic abuse and the same proportion had a substance-misusing parent.

Sixty-one per cent had experienced neglect in their childhood.

The council said that this supported the “toxic trio” – domestic violence, parental mental ill-health and parental substance misuse, linked to the problem.

According to West Berkshire Council: “The majority of CSE offending in West Berkshire is lone offending, often through on-line grooming, with drugs and alcohol often playing a part in the abuse.

“Links between the use of Mephedrone and CSE have been noted.”