Two Rotherham child abuse victims accidentally left out of court for rapist sentencing after ‘officer error’

Two Rotherham child abuse victims were accidentally left out of court for the sentencing of their rapist, GB News can reveal.

The survivors were not brought into court room for the sentencing of Neil King, 51, who was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for 17 sexual offences against a girl and her best friend.

King repeatedly raped one of the girls at his home and in his car with the assistance of his then-girlfriend.

The girl was on one occasion accompanied by her best friend, who was 13 or 14 at the time, with King abusing them together.

The first victim escaped him when she moved homes, but King later tracked her down and raped her again.

He targeted and groomed both of his victims with money, alcohol, drugs and gifts.

King was brought to justice by the National Crime Agency after they identified the victims as part of Operation Stovewood, the agency’s ongoing investigation into historic child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

But after a 16-year wait for justice, both victims were accidentally left outside of the courtroom when King was sentenced last Friday.

GB News understands that the judge agreed to sit today, six days after the sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court, to apologise directly to the victims for what happened last week, and to pay tribute to them directly.

The NCA has apologised to both victims directly and they will both receive a written apology.

An NCA spokesperson said that an “officer error” meant that the victims weren’t able to be in the room at the moment of sentencing.

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“As soon as we were made aware we contacted the court to see how the situation could be remedied. As a result the judge has agreed to an additional hearing at which they can be present.

“We have apologised to the victims, and once again pay tribute to their bravery in coming forward and telling their stories. Their testimonies were vital in bringing King to justice for his appalling crimes.”

The “officer error” comes two weeks after GB News revealed that another Rotherham survivor had her victim impact statement censored by a judge after she called for some of her abusers to be deported.

The survivor, whose anonymity is protected for life, delivered a powerful statement in Sheffield Crown Court directed at her abusers, but it later transpired that a section relating to her Pakistani abusers being deported was removed by the judge.

Child abuse campaigner Maggie Oliver said this latest scandal was another example of “victims not being put first” in the campaign for justice.

“I recognise that mistakes are made, but the magnitude of that mistake will live with those two victims for the rest of their lives. I’m not sure how that wrong could ever be put right now.

“What it shows is a system that far too often overlooks victims in what are seen as processes and procedures to many officials.”

Maggie, who runs the Maggie Oliver Foundation that campaigns for survivors of child sexual exploitation, added: “The human side of these cases is often an afterthought to the people in charge of those processes and procedures.

“That’s what we’re here to do at the foundation, to uphold the rights of the victims. They should be number one in every consideration, but unfortunately all too often, they aren’t.”

Maggie called for more safeguards to prevent this from happening again.

“The victim should be front and centre of every case like this. Human error is always going to be an issue, but this just should not happen.

“These victims waited 16 years, what should have been a celebration of their courage and perseverance has been overshadowed by them being forgotten in the process.”