Judge slams police over failure to investigate abuse of vulnerable schoolgirl, 14, by man who forced her to have sex with his friends

• Thames Valley Police was told about the abuse of a schoolgirl, 14, in 2012
• She was repeatedly abused because of a lack of police action, a judge said
• Judge Gordon Risius said officers were guilty of a 'lamentable failure' to act
• The girl was raped by Omid Ali, who also made her have sex with his friends
• The 21-year-old, from Oxford, was sentenced to 14 years in jail

A judge has criticised a ‘lamentable failure’ by senior police officers to prevent a man raping a teenage girl and forcing her to have sex with his friends.

The case came to court at a time when similar crimes were under the spotlight.

Detectives from Thames Valley Police were told a 14-year-old schoolgirl was abused by Omid Ali, 21, but the judge said the predator was able to abuse her again because of a lack of action.

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Criticism: Judge Gordon Risius (left) slammed Thames Valley Police for failing to prevent Omid Ali (right) repeatedly abusing a 14-year-old girl

The crimes happened after the force launched Operation Bullfinch in May 2011, which targeted men sexually abusing vulnerable young girls in council care and saw seven men jailed for a total of 95 years after an 18-week trial at the Old Bailey last year.

At Oxford Crown Court, Judge Gordon Risius told how Ali, who was jailed for 14 years, subjected a vulnerable teenage girl to repeated abuse and forced her to have sex with his friends.

Judge Risius said the crimes were reported to police in January 2012 but officers did ‘little or nothing’ to follow them up and that Ali went on to abuse his victim again in the summer of 2012 before being arrested in November 2013.

Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Sara Thornton said the failures were unacceptable and that an internal investigation was underway to determine what went wrong.

Sentencing Ali, Judge Risius said the girl reported the abuse to a teacher at her school, who notified the police and Oxfordshire County Council.

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‘The police also spoke to her parents, who were unaware of what had been going on,’ said Judge Risius.

‘The police promised to deal with the matter and to keep them informed.

‘However, the officers tasked with carrying out the investigation did little or nothing to follow it up, despite a review by a more senior officer six months later.’

‘The jury were told that the police professional standards department is now looking into this lamentable failure to investigate very serious allegations with the care and attention they warranted.

‘Whether or not you realised that the police were taking no action, it had undoubted consequences for the girl, because during the school summer holidays in 2012 you asked her to get in touch with you.’

'The public will want to know exactly what went wrong and what has been done to put it right' - Judge Gordon Risius at Oxford Crown Court

On that occasion Ali threatened the girl into having sex with two of his friends, who have not yet been tried, and then told her to leave quickly afterwards.

Ali, of Headington, Oxfordshire, was convicted of rape, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual activity with a child.

The judge’s comments sparked criticism from Labour MP for Oxford East Andrew Smith, who said they sounded a ‘very serious warning note.’

‘Especially after the experience of Operation Bullfinch, it is alarming and surprising that police did not follow up on this, with the wholly unacceptable consequences the judge referred to,’ said Mr Smith.

‘The public will want to know exactly what went wrong and what has been done to put it right.

‘People need to have confidence that the police are doing all they can to the highest standards of professionalism and effectiveness.’

Chief Constable Thornton said the investigation was being looked at by the professional standards department and supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

‘The initial handling of this case was completely unacceptable,’ she said.

‘As soon as the deficiencies came to light the force moved quickly to rectify the situation, working closely with the victim and her family and arresting Omid Ali for his offences.

‘As a result, he has been handed a significant sentence of 14 years in prison.’

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Paul Smith said: ‘Oxfordshire County Council takes grooming and sexual exploitation of children very seriously and encourages anyone with concerns to contact the specialist Kingfisher unit.

‘We will always listen to children.’