Three Girls

This programme contains strong language from the start,

and scenes which some viewers may find disturbing.

Right, Holly. Shall we start again?

From the beginning.

'At me mates', there's no-one standing at the window

'waiting to kick off.'

If you like it so much, why don't you go live there, then?!

When are you going to let me have sex with you? No... No...

'Don't let them kiss you.' Get off me!

I don't take my top off, or nothing.

'You're not safe.

'He's going to kill you.'

Tell me everything you want the police to know.

Like who?

I don't know what they're going to do to us. Who?

The men.

They do nothing to us.

You come back home with us, and we'll sort this. I promise you.

We'll sort it.

You were saying, about Tariq and Amber...

Tariq started taking us places.

He started picking us up and...

..Amber thought that he was her boyfriend.

So, what did you think was going on when he picked you up?

I didn't actually know he was taking us to have sex.

I don't know if she did, but...

So, what did you think was going to happen?

I don't know.

What do you want? Is Amber Bowen at this address?

Amber!

Why, what do you want her for?

Hmm?

Amber Bowen?

Yeah.

We're arresting you on suspicion of inciting girls to prostitution.

Doing what?

She's 15. 15- in a cell!

She's being interviewed now. What for? What for?!

She's got a solicitor with her.

I'm her mum! I should be in there with her.

I know me fucking rights! Look, you can either wait here

or we'll call you when it's concluded. She's 15!

Are you arranging for girls to have sex with men?

No comment.

Are you taking money while other girls have sex with men?

No comment.

Are you a madam, Amber?

No comment.

Your mum's outside having a fag.

What you done?

They wouldn't tell me.

Is Ruby doing it?

Whatever it is, is Ruby doing it?

I've got to go. Where are you going?

Where are you going?

Ruby...

What? What are you doing?

Where do you go, when you're out with them Pakis? What do you do?

Um...

I sit on the settee.

They give me money for sitting on the settee.

Ruby is pregnant.

We'll need more tests to check for STIs.

Are you going to bash my face in?

No...Ruby...

No. Why would you say that? Cos that's what you always said.

If me or Amber got pregnant before we were 16...

Come here...

Do you know who got you pregnant?

Yeah.

What's he called?

Billy.

Billy what?

Just Billy.

Do you know where he lives?

Havelock Grange.

Right. Come on.

Why?

I don't want him to get into trouble.

It's alright, you just point at his house.

Is that his taxi?

Yeah.

And is that his house?

Yeah.

Can we go now?

Bye. Bye. See ya.

Bye.

Bye.

Hello, Rochdale Police.

'13-year-old on the child protection register,

'got a statement of learning needs,

'pregnant by a mid-30s man with a family of his own.'

I can tell you his name, his address, his licence plate.

She's getting a termination tomorrow

at Millfield Road Clinic, 3 o'clock.

Hello. Ruby Bowen?

Ruby's frightened of needles.

She'll be fine.

It's OK.

He was doing appeasement.

What's that, then?

Like, he was just saying yeah to what Hitler wanted,

just to, like, keep the peace? Very good.

Where was he from? The Conservatives.

What part of the world? Well, that's not in it, is it?

It's a bonus question.

Dad! It's GCSEs not a pub quiz.

Oi, smartarse, how many GCSEs have you got?

How many have you? No comment.

Well, what about what's in there? Did I do alright?

alright? You got every one.

And for that, Paxo here's going to make you a cup of tea.

One for me, as well, please!

What's her name? She's so cute.

Holly.

I've got yours.

Girls, can we have a minute, please?

Did I pass any?

You passed them all.

Every one.

You can do A levels, Holly.

You can go to university.

You can do whatever you want.

Holly'll be back soon. Don't you want to know how she got on?

Course I do. I'm going to go and meet her halfway.

Tell us! Will you just tell us? Where's Dad?

Passed 'em all.

Every single one.

That's fantastic, love.

Dad?

What's wrong?

Your case has been dropped.

There's going to be no charges. Against anyone.

Why?

Cos there's an "unrealistic prospect of conviction".

His DNA's all over your knickers... Jim!

..and there's an "unrealistic prospect of conviction".

Mum?

What about all the interviews I did,

and picking 'em out of a line-up?

It wasn't the police, Holly. It was CPS.

Why?

I told the truth.

I told 'em everything.

I know. They didn't think a jury would believe you.

Thanks very much, but no thanks.

You don't even know what I'm going to ask you yet.

I know you've got an operation

running into sex abuse by Asian gangs.

What else have you heard?

That there's a foetus been found in a freezer

belonging to a 13-year-old girl.

You've had a 15-year-old locked in a cell for being a madam.

All sorts.

It's not good.

But we've a chance now to put it right.

We can get convictions here, Maggie, if we can re-engage the girls.

I've been here before, Sandy.

2004, 2005- same story, but Manchester not Rochdale.

I spent over a year getting two 14-year-old girls

to spill their guts to me about what had been done to them,

only for the whole thing to just fade away.

Maggie, you can trust me when I tell you,

there's a fair wind behind this one.

You can have a force-9 gale,

but that won't compel a vulnerable kid into a witness box.

I know that. Which is why I need you.

Come on, Maggie. Let me just show you the file.

File?

alright, Files.

Amber and Ruby Bowen.

Amber of the jail cell.

Ruby of the foetus.

They're key to this, and we need 'em. Both of 'em.

They're both victims of the same group of men.

But Amber was arrested?

She was, yeah.

Other kids thought she was in control.

Maybe she even thought she was in control but, of course, she wasn't.

The men were. She was never charged

And Ruby? Well, we've got Forensics with the foetus

that leads us right to the perpetrator...

if we can get her consent for us having it in the first place.

So, she doesn't know that we have it or that it was ever taken?

I'm not going to lie to you, Maggie. It's a mess.

Rochdale's had trouble with on-street grooming going way back,

and even when they had a cracking case,

kid called Holly Winshaw, they never got it to trial.

Now the IPCC are investigating their failings.

How many victims?

47.

They're drowning in it.

My priority is to reopen every one of these cases.

And re-engage the girls.

Adil Khan.

Shabir Ahmed, Abdul Aziz.

Kabeer Hasan. Mohammed Sajid.

Mohammed Amin. Abdul Raulf.

Abdul Qayyum. Hamid Safi.

Anya Miah, we don't need to bother about him, cos he's in jail already.