Huddersfield grooming victim feared abusers would 'gang rape her mum'

Gang of men given lengthy jail sentences for abusing vulnerable teenage girls

Twenty men have been given long-term jail sentences for abusing teenagers in Huddersfield (West Yorkshire Police)

A Huddersfield grooming victim feared her abusers would “gang rape her mother”, one of the victims’ parents has said.

Following the sentencing of a gang of men who embarked on a "campaign of rape and other sexual abuse" against vulnerable teenage girls, horrifying details of the ordeals have emerged.

Fifteen women told juries they were abused between 2004 and 2011 when they were aged between 11 and 17.

One of the mothers of the victims has spoken out about what her 13-year-old daughter went through.

She said her daughter changed very quickly and began to miss school regularly and disappeared every weekend.

On each occasion she was left to find her own way back to her family and would frantically call home in the early hours of the morning.

Her parents tried to lock the doors and windows to prevent her leaving but she would threaten to harm herself.

"There was one time we were trying to talk sense into her and drag her back into the house," her mother told the BBC.

"She was saying 'I have to go, you don't understand'.

"I was saying 'please make us understand' and she said 'they've said if I don't do what they say then they're going to gang rape you in front of dad'.

"I was gobsmacked. I thought if this is the kind of hold these perpetrators have over your child then you've got absolutely no chance."

She also spoke of how her daughter would often be disoriented and that it was clear she had been drugged.

“We used to take it in turns and sit up all night with her, making sure she was lying on her side. We didn't know what she'd had,” the mother told the BBC.

"She was giddy, silly. I used to always say what's your name, what's your date of birth, do you know what day it is?

"Then she'd sleep right through until dinner time the day after, get up, shower and go out again."

The victim’s parents said they contacted the police on several occasions and even approached their MP.

They also kept a log recording everything that was happening but officers told them that without their daughter speaking out or offering “hardcore evidence”, there was very little they could do.