01 Dec 08
When DC Jo Masters investigates the death of Kelly Porterfield, a teenage prostitute, in episodes ‘Forgotten Child’, she uncovers a nationwide network of sex trafficking. We all know it’s only a TV drama, but did you know every time The Bill tells a story about a crime it’s thoroughly researched?
Jo is genuinely upset over the death of Kelly, as she remembered her as a very likable and cheeky girl. Like many professionals in the real world, Jo had no idea of how Kelly ended up as a prostitute at such a young age. Our researcher and the story team came across some disturbing facts: They met with, the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC), working hard to raise awareness of trafficking young UK nationals within the country. This is what they discovered…
Like our characters who feature alongside DC Jo Masters, girls who fall victim to this crime are commonly between 11 and 16 and invariably in care; although it even happens to nice middle class girls. They’re approached in shopping centres or bus stops, whether they’re with friends or alone. Like the character Andy Donnelly, the men who approach them are often in their teens or early twenties – they befriend them and groom them offering cheap jewellery, clothes, cannabis and, most importantly, mobile phones. The phones hold great importance as the men know where the girls are at all times and later use the phones to threaten the girls: “if you don’t come now, I’ll come and get you.”
The girls believe the young men are their boyfriends and enjoy the attention. Abusing the girls gives them an opportunity to control someone, when perhaps they have little standing or respect in the wider UK community.
Andy who ran away with Kelly, soon got to work on another girl, Jenny – she was in love him and totally unaware of what her ‘boyfriend’ had planned. The grooming period can be as short as two weeks. Girls are encouraged to start spending time away from home, starting with the odd night here and there and to miss school. Soon their appearance changes dramatically but not into short skirts; instead they’ll don shell suits, with hooped earrings, scrape backed hair and wear a lot of make-up.
The spellbound girls may become known to the police for shoplifting, missing school and being frequent runaways. This means when they do finally disappear, local police may not take it seriously as they’re known to run off all the time and expected to return soon enough.
The girls start to have sex with the ‘boyfriends’ whilst spending time at their multi-occupancy home while truant. They lose track of time and it’s also been known for the men to change the clocks to confuse the girls. After a short period, the girls are encouraged to have sex with other men in the house (‘If you loved me you would…’) – the other men are usually in their 30s and 40s. Now the girls are ensnared into a trap as they don’t want to risk losing their boyfriend who is paying them attention, buying them gifts and feeding them.
Once the girls have been groomed and ‘persuaded’ to have sex with older men, the next step can be removal to another town. Girls have been reported falling asleep (having been given the date-rape drug) and waking up in a strange place: in the back of a pub, or another multi-occupancy building, locked in and forced to have sex with dozens of men – often several at a time.
One victim, we came across in the research, looked out of the window to see a line of men waiting to have sex with her; she realised. The girls mobile phones are taken away leaving them with no contact with anyone other than the men brought into have sex with them. Now they’re isolated, disorientated with no idea where they are or how to get home. If they complain they are physically as well as sexually abused – suffering cigarette burns or beatings and threatened with greater violence.
Our fictitious character Kelly Porterfield had gone through the grooming process, got hooked on drugs and forced into prostitution. She wanted to return home to her mum – but died before she made it back.
With the original ‘boyfriend’/groomer off the scene victims may be kept for up to two years. Eventually when they’re around 16 or 17-years-old and no longer ‘fresh meat’ and no use to the men, the victims have lost contact with friends and family; have little self-esteem and are too ashamed to return to their former lives. Often they end up living as a street prostitute.
The UKHTC feels there is a lack of awareness amongst professionals so that investigations are not handled properly. Like Kelly, girls found in this situation are often treated and referred to as child prostitutes. This isn’t the case: the girls are unaware of what they are being dragged into and don’t receive money from the men – they are groomed, sexually abused and kept prisoner.
Worst of all, it’s a growing phenomenon!
You can pass on information about crime anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org