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| Although the girl claims to have been abused by hundreds of paedophiles only this three were brought to justice |
The men would travel from across the country to abuse Paula, often using city centre hotels or houses where she was allegedly tasered by one of the paedophiles
A brave schoolgirl sex abuse victim has told how she was abused by 137 paedophiles over two years – but only three were ever jailed.
Paula Smith (not her real name) says she was raped at the age of 13 after being abducted from near her school and taken to a house.
Days later she was groomed by another predator via Facebook . Over two years he repeatedly abused the schoolgirl and also pimped her out to other child molesters linked to a swingers website – where her profile had been posted online without her knowledge.
They would travel from across the country to abuse Paula, often using city centre hotels or houses where she was allegedly tasered by one sadistic monster, the Birmingham Mail reports .
But Paula claims social services, her school, and police failed to swiftly act to end her nightmare ordeal, despite obvious signs of child sexual exploitation (CSE).
When her suspicious mum eventually called in police, she courageously provided names, addresses and even car registrations of those who had abused her.
Yet only three were ever brought to justice.
Schoolteacher William Hanna, 66, his girlfriend Dianne Whitehouse, 61, and Ian McGlasson, 50, were sentenced to a total of 19 years. Two other suspects committed suicide after being arrested.
Now the young mum-of-two has gone public about her nightmare ordeal to shine a light on CSE to help other young potential victims.
She also wants to know why police seemingly called a halt to their investigation after three convictions, despite her providing them with so much evidence.
Paula, now aged 22, said: “I gave police the names of 137 men, many of their car registrations, I even knew where some of them worked.
“But the police told my mum that what had happened to me was so big and complex that they would only focus on the main ones.”
Paula Smith – not her real name – had a troubled upbringing and suffered from low self-esteem as she reached her teens. At that time she lived with her elderly gran, only occasionally visiting her mother.
In November 2008 she says she was targeted by pensioner Nigel Greaves who pulled up in his car as she was walking to school.
Paula said: “He called me by name, said where I lived and then asked me to get into his car.
“I assumed Nan had arranged for him to come and pick me up.
“He drove me towards Nan’s house but then headed to his instead. I asked him why and he said he needed to pick something up and asked me to go inside.
“Once inside, he dragged me upstairs.”
Paula says she was repeatedly raped before later being dropped off by Greaves in Birmingham city centre.
Battered and dazed, she went to the Children’s Hospital, where she had been under the care of a psychiatrist. She recalled: “The psychiatrist called the police, my Nan and I had a medical and swabs were taken.
“But I was too scared to tell them who had attacked me as he knew my address and had threatened to do to my little sister what he had done to me.”
Days later she was targeted on Facebook by paedophile Ian McGlasson after hinting at the trauma she had been through online.
It is unclear if he knew Greaves, but he swiftly moved into grooming mode, pretending to be a caring child counsellor.
Paula said: “He messaged me over Facebook and then on the phone. He said he was a counsellor who could help me.
“I eventually agreed to meet him for a coffee at a hotel in Birmingham. He said we could not go to his office as he had taken on this case himself.”
Paula met McGlasson in the hotel lobby, still in her school uniform, then he took her to the room.
She said: “We sat and talked for an hour and I became upset. He then sat next to me and began touching my leg. He then covered my mouth with his hand and pushed me down and raped me.
“Afterwards he said he was really sorry, he said he just wanted me to feel loved.”
Terrified and confused, Paula returned home but did not report the attack to police – and McGlasson continued the grooming on Facebook.
She said: “He kept contacting me, saying he was sorry and genuinely wanted to help me. Because I was so depressed and vulnerable, I believed him.”
McGlasson later offered Paula a ‘weekend therapy session’ at his home in Stratford-upon-Avon, paying for her train fare from Birmingham.
When she arrived at the property, the sickening abuse began again.
“He gave me alcohol, and put something in my drink to make me fall asleep,” she recalled.
“When I woke up at one point, I was gagged and tied to the bed and he was having sex with me. He was also filming it all.
“The following morning, I woke up and it was as if nothing had happened. He even cooked breakfast.”
The cycle of abuse continued for some 21 months, with McGlasson also buying her presents including jewellery.
It was during this awful period that Paula met William Hanna and Dianne Whitehouse as McGlasson forced her to meet other paedophiles. The couple violently abused her and then began pimping her out themselves by posting her faked profile on a swingers’ website.
The site did not know she was underage and later co-operated with police with the subsequent investigation.
Paula said: “Ian had suggested I see other people and I was too scared to say no.
“He would say,’my friend wants to meet you. The more you struggle the more you will get hurt.’”
Paula says over the 21 months she was abused by more than 137 paedophiles.
“They were from Scotland, Ireland, Devon, London, Oxford, everywhere. They were all ages, including a 19-year-old Birmingham university student,” she said.
“I mostly met then in hotels, but the ones from Birmingham I would meet at their houses. They were all members of the same website.”
Hanna and Whitehouse violently abused Paula, as well as pimping her out to others.
She said: “They were violent, forceful and threatening.
“Yet at the same time Ian began saying how he loved me, he was making out like I was his girlfriend and I guess I fell for it.”
A court later heard how Hanna and Whitehouse abused Paula over six months, even broadcasting some attacks live on the internet for other paedophiles to watch.
They also sold her for sex to other men whose depravity and violence knew no bounds.
Paula said: “I was strangled, had a knife held to my throat, had multiple men rape me. I was belted by various people. One man even tasered me.”
She claims that man was Andrew Bicknell, from Birmingham, who allegedly abused her for many months, including an attack involving up to eight other men at his home.
Yet Paula says no teacher at the school raised the alarm despite tell-tale signs of CSE, including bruising and falling attendance.
Paula said: “I blamed bullying at school for the bruises and the school never picked up on anything. My attendance from 2008 to mid 2010 went down to 12 per cent but the school said nothing. There were no letters to my family.”
Her ordeal came to an end when McGlasson made a fatal mistake by messaging Paula’s mum over Facebook when he could not get in touch with the schoolgirl.
The suspicious parent called in police and arrests soon followed, including McGlasson and Hanna and Whitehouse.
Bicknell was also arrested on suspicion of rape, money laundering, possession of an offensive weapon and cannabis cultivation. While on bail he was later found dead in his car in Harborne with girlfriend, Sze-Man Wong.
Nigel Greaves took his own life after also being quizzed by police about allegedly abusing Paula.
The three arrested paedophiles appeared before Birmingham Crown Court in June 2013.
Hanna, from Acocks Green, was convicted of three counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child and of causing/inciting involvement in pornography. He was jailed for seven years.
Whitehouse, from Cannock, was found guilty of two counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child and causing/inciting involvement in pornography. She was sentenced to six years.
McGlasson, from Stratford-upon-Avon, pleaded guilty to six counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child and two counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming.
He also admitted taking indecent photographs of a child and possessing indecent photographs of a child.
He was jailed for six years.
The three monsters were also all ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.
Yet Paula says she has still not received justice because of the many abusers still out there.
She said: “I told police everything, but only about 12 people were arrested and only three were ever charged. Police did not tell me why, but they told my mum they wanted to concentrate on the main offenders.”
Yet brave Paula has shown remarkable resilience and bravery, rebuilding a young life so shattered by betrayal and abuse,
She is now the proud mum of two young children and is helping other victims of CSE and abuse, having recently arranged a talk for fellow survivors.
She said: “When Ian was arrested I had an idea I still loved him. But I was still brainwashed. Since then I’ve done lots to understand child abuse, domestic abuse and recovery.
“I got all the help I need, now I want to help others.
“Everything is looking up.”
West Midlands Police said a total of 15 suspects were arrested.
Chief Superintendent Claire Bell, Head of the force’s Public Protection Unit, said, “where there is sufficient evidence to take action we will make arrests and bring offenders to justice.”
She added: “During the course of this thorough three-year investigation a total of 15 arrests were made where the evidence supported police action. Working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service we were satisfied that all appropriate action against the known suspects was taken.
“If new evidence has now come to light then we will of course investigate this further and encourage the victim to come forward and speak to us in confidence.
“As a force we continue to invest a significant amount of resources into training specialist officers in investigating and tackling CSE. As a result of this we are now seeing more people come forward and any allegations will be taken seriously.”
In terms of Adult Friend Finder, a spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “AFF were contacted and removed her profile as soon as they were informed she was a child. They also assisted further with evidence for the successful criminal prosecution.”
Dudley Council is the local authority for Leasowes School. Councillor Ian Cooper, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “As the regional lead in raising awareness of child sexual exploitation we take these issues extremely seriously.
“We now work closely with schools to ensure key staff are trained to spot the signs of this crime, which targets the most vulnerable children and young people in society.
“As a responsible authority we are unable to discuss personal information about current or former school pupils in public.”
No-one from the swingers website was available for comment.
