The 'A' word

It's the same old story...

The Times begins one of its top stories today like this:

Ten men have been charged as part of an investigation into child grooming and sexual exploitation in Rochdale.

The men, nine of whom are Asian, are accused of a series of serious sex offences against seven victims, aged as young as 13 at the time of the alleged offences, between 2005 and 2013.

ITV News begins its account of the same story like this:

Ten men have been charged as part of an ongoing investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rochdale.

The men, nine of whom are Asian, are accused of a catalogue of serious sex offences against seven victims, aged as young as 13 at the time of the alleged offences, between 2005 and 2013. 

Sky News begins its take like this:

Ten suspects - including nine Asian men - are accused of a number of sex exploitation offences between 2005 and 2013

Ten men have been charged as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rochdale.

The suspects were arrested after police launched an operation in May 2012 targeting older men accused of sexually exploiting teenage girls in the town and other areas of Greater Manchester.

Nine of the men are Asian. They are accused of serious sex offences against seven victims, at least one of whom was 13 at the time of the offences alleged to have taken place between 2005 and 2013. 

 The BBC, in contrast, avoids any mention of race in the main body of its report:

Ten men have been charged by police investigating child sexual exploitation in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

The men are accused of a catalogue of serious sex offences against seven females aged between 13 and 23 at the time of the alleged abuse, police said.

They were held under Operation Doublet, investigating child sexual exploitation of teen girls by older men in Rochdale.

The offences are alleged to have happened between 2005 and 2013.

They include rape, conspiracy to rape, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual activity with a child and sexual assault.

'Complex investigation'

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the investigation was not connected to an ongoing inquiry into historical abuse at Knowl View School.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: "This investigation is one of a number of cases which comes under the umbrella of Operation Doublet, which is the continued investigation into child sexual exploitation (CSE) that arose following the 2011 investigation into CSE in Rochdale.

"The operation is an investigation into CSE in Rochdale and across other areas of Greater Manchester.

"So far, 65 people have been arrested as part of Operation Doublet and the investigation continues.

"This is an extremely complex and challenging investigation which started in May 2012. The investigation will continue over the coming months and further arrests are anticipated."

The charges have been welcomed by Rochdale's Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who has called for more action to expose historical sex abuse crimes.

Mr Danczuk said: "There have been some who have urged me not to campaign on grooming, but I believe that this news shows what can be achieved by keeping up pressure and pushing for change."

Only the list of suspects at the bottom of the page gives the game away.