A victim of the Rochdale child abuse has come forward and discussed how she was ignored by police who could have helped her
A victim of the Rochdale child abuse gang has spoken out about her ordeal after the dramatisation of the horror aired this week.
Three Girls, which starred Maxine Peake, Jill Halfpenny and Loose Women's Lisa Riley, told the devastating story of the events that unfolded, and how it finally all came to light.
But it could have come to light much sooner if police had listened to the victims at the time.
Lily, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, spoke to Ben Shephard on Good Morning Britain this morning and revealed that she did go to police - but they ignored her.
Lily was targeted by the men when she was 15-years-old. She was living in foster care after the devastating death of both her parents, and spent her days "walking the streets".
Explaining how it started, she said: "They build the trust first. The first time I got taken into a taxi, nothing happened.
"They just took me home and gave me some fags, and that to me was kind of like they are looking after me, they are trying to keep me safe. They took me off the street and brought me home."
READ: There's a petition for BBC's Three Girls to be shown as an educational programme in schools
Ben asked whether that was the first time she'd ever felt taken care of by an adult, to which she readily agreed: "Yeah, yeah I did, you know, that was the first time I kind of felt accepted, wanted, safe."
Lily, now 22, harrowingly explained how she began to realise what was going on: "I was 15 when I was raped. I didn't really understand what had happened and I was speaking to my sexual health worker at the time, and she said, 'You need to think about what you've just described to me, it's not right.' That was the first time I reported it."
Kate then asked if people listened when she did speak out, and she responded: "No, I just felt like I was ignored. Because I'd been told that this thing that happened to me was really horrific, but when I actually tried to report it, nothing happened.
"That made me think that there was nothing wrong with what was going on, because if there was something wrong, and it was really bad, then the police would have done something."
Where can I watch BBC One's Three Girls?
Watch episode one of BBC's Three Girls on BBC iPlayer.
Watch episode two of BBC's Three Girls on BBC iPlayer.
Watch episode three of BBC's Three Girls on BBC iPlayer.
Watch Good Morning Britain, ITV, weekdays 6am - 8.30am.
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