A woman abused by the leader of a child grooming gang in Rotherham is pleading for a royal pardon.
Sammy Woodhouse has revealed her identity to call for a crime amnesty to encourage other grooming victims to come forward.
She wants to see a ‘Sammy’s Law’ believing she could face years behind bars for crimes she was made to commit as a young teenager.
She said: “I’m asking for a royal pardon for myself and all the survivors, we need our criminal records wiped.
“I’m 31 years old and I still have a criminal record from being groomed as a child. I feel like they are still blaming me.
“I know there are a lot of survivors out there who would come forward but are scared they will be prosecuted.”
She says she has also come clean with police about the crimes she was not charged with and has been told it’s not in the public interest to prosecute her.
Sammy met Arshid Hussain, known as ‘Mad Ash’ after she turned 14 and he was 24.
He pulled up in his silver Vauxhall Astra at St John’s Green, a popular hangout for teenagers in Rotherham “I remember sitting in his car and he stroked my face...it was like he’d put a spell on me, I was fascinated by him.”
The young teen became his getaway driver and sat in his car with a scanner as he carried out armed robberies on rival drug dealers.
He had taught her to drive in Rotherham car parks and she drove a stolen car after a post officer raid.
Sammy said she was also involved with a burglary, 20 counts of criminal damage and possession of a firearm.
She added: “When you look at the list of crimes I sound evil but I am a good person.”
Sammy, who has previously spoken under the name Jessica, told the Daily Mirror: “It was not my fault and I hope that other people see that. I’m sorry other people got affected through what happened but I hope they understand I was just a kid.
"I was totally controlled and brainwashed by my abuser. He treated me like a rag doll and beat me daily. The only person to blame is him.
“I remember Ash saying ‘If I go down, I’m taking you with me.’ Part of the grooming process is to groom victims to commit crimes to stop them coming forward. Its always prevented me.”
She said she feared for her life and he raped and tried to kill her on several occasions. To keep her from talking he threatened to kill her family.
Sammy became pregnant at 15, when she was in foster care, and later gave birth to her abuser's son.
She told the BBC: "There's times when I still feel angry at him. There's times when I want to cry. And then there's times that I will always love him, because he gave me my son."
Her abuser is now behind bars and was one of three brothers behind the grooming and sexual abuse of more than 50 girls including Sammy.
Last February he and his brother Basharat were found guilty of 38 offences, including rape, indecent assault, abduction and forcing their victims to have sex with others.
His other brother Bannaras pleaded guilty before the trial to ten charges, including two of rape and indecent assault.
Arshid, 40, was jailed for 35 years while Basharat, 39, and Bannaras, 36, were jailed for 25 years and 19 years respectively.
They were finally brought to justice after Sammy came forward and sparked the 2014 Jay report.
The shocking report found more than 1,400 children were victims of child sexual exploitation in the town between 1997 and 2013.
Investigations into how 30 police officers handled child sex abuse complaints in Rotherham are under way by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Rotherham Council were declared “not fit for purpose” in 2015 over its handing of child sexual exploitation.
source:http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brave-victim-rotherham-sex-gang-10070786
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