Nov 2017
Both Ilvarasan Rajenthiram and Vinothan Rajenthiram were jailed for making eight vulnerable girls the subject of their sexual desires.
They befriended their victims with free sweets, crisps and cigarettes before flirting, bribing and coaxing them into sex acts despite their youth.
And had others not been more aware of the manipulative tactics of the paedophile brothers, it is almost certain the number of victims would have risen well into double figures.
The offences of the Rajenthirams, known affectionately as Ara and Vino by the girls taken in by their depraved approaches, spanned six years.
It is hard to believe, as the men moved between victims and friendship groups, that they could not have been stopped earlier.
And the truth – acknowledged today, following the completion of an investigation into how their case was handled by the authorities – is that it should have been.
Missed opportunities, according to Wirral’s child safeguarding chief, allowed the abuse “to go on undetected for longer than it should have”.
Professor Maggie Atkinson adds that “grave errors” were made in the care of one victim, and repeats the apologies she offered after the brothers were jailed earlier this year.
The Serious Case Review has not been disclosed over fears it would identify the victim.
The ECHO has raised its disappointment at this decision – transparency is essential to holding public bodies to account and making sure lessons are learned.
But it has to be accepted the protection of the victim is paramount, and the unique circumstances of this case do present difficulties over detailing the failings without revealing who she is.
The ECHO is aware of those unique circumstances because it followed this case in a 15 month investigation now vindicated by the review.
From the moment the Birkenhead shop used as a hub for the exploitation was shutdown in the courts, reporters followed the probe despite being gagged from reporting on it.
This included a five month crown court trial, the details of which could not be reported until the brothers were found guilty and sentenced for their crimes.
For me, personally, that meant attending court on days off and before late shifts in order to piece together just how such serious offending had continued for so long.
By probing the case, a host of concerns emerged over how Wirral Council’s social services handled it.
Social workers had been aware one victim, a girl in its care, had a relationship with then 21-year-old Ilvarasan as early as 2012.
First, the victim’s lies that the relationship was not sexual were accepted.
Contact then continued – including unsupervised meetings between the girl and Ilvarasan even after social workers flagged concerns they were having sex.
While 16, but considered so vulnerable as to be placed in care more than 100 miles from Birkenhead, the victim was still allowed unsupervised contact with Ara – even staying the night with him.
READ MORE: Shop used by paedophile brothers to exploit vulnerable teens could reopen
Separately, one victim’s mum revealed fears about the Rajenthirams as early as 2011. She did not make a formal complaint, though Merseyside Police passed the concerns to the council.
And poor record keeping by social services undermined the prosecution case – as defence lawyers argued a lack of documents detailing fears one victim was in an underage sexual relationship meant that those fears had not actually existed.
Context is crucial.
The Rajenthirams’ abuse came against a backdrop of chaos within Wirral’s social services.
NSPCC- Preventing Child Sexual Abuse
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/six-years-eight-victims-failure-13968165
Wirral paedophile newsagent brothers fail in bid to get sentence cut
Judges ‘quite unpersuaded’ by Ilavarasan and Vinothan Rajenthiram’s appeal
May 2018
Merseyside Police statement on ,Rajenthiram brothers case,
WIRRAL brothers who preyed on teenage girls while running convenience stores have failed to get their “heavy” sentences reduced.
Ilavarasan and Vinothan Rajenthiram lured their vulnerable victims by plying them with free sweets and drink.
Girls they molested were sometimes wearing their school uniforms when the pair began grooming them for sex.
Between them, they molested nine victims – Ilvarasan preying on six and his brother on three.
Ilavarasan, 25, was locked up 18 and a half years at Manchester Crown Court last November.
Jurors convicted him of 15 counts of sexual activity with a child, three sexual assaults, and two counts of perverting the course of justice.
Vinothan, 27, was jailed for 14 years after he was found guilty of rape, multiple assault and sexual activity counts, and one of perverting the course of justice.
Labelled dangerous offenders, they were each also ordered to serve an extra four years on licence after their release.
The pair, from Grove Road, Wallasey Village, ran shops in Birkenhead, Walton and Garston, using them as a base for their predatory crimes.
Ilavarasan was well aware that one of his victims was just 14 when he began grooming her for sex, London’s Appeal Court heard today.
She walked into his shop wearing her school uniform, said Mr Justice Stuart-Smith, but they had sex together in a sparsely furnished flat after their third meeting.
Vinothan raped a 14-year-old girl after she too came into one of his shops in her school kit, the court heard.
He gave her free sweets and drinks, and took her to an upstairs flat where he plied her with alcohol before raping her.
Both brothers challenged their jail terms – claiming they were far too tough – and Vinothan also tried to challenge his convictions.
Vinothan claimed his lawyers should have been allowed to cross-examine one of his victims about a past rape complaint.
But Mr Justice Stuart-Smith, sitting with two other judges, threw out his complaints, saying: “We are quite unpersuaded.”
Also rejecting Vinothan’s sentence appeal, he described his crimes as “serious and persistent predatory offending against a number of children”.
His punishment was “neither wrong in principle nor manifestly excessive”, the judge added.
Turning to Ilavarasan’s sentence challenge, he told the court: “He targeted six victims for his own sexual gratification.
“There was sustained offending against young girls over a number of years.
“The overall sentence was a long one. But these were serious offences against numerous victims and called for a heavy sentence.”
Wirral grooming scandal report will NOT be made public sparking “cover up” claims
Wirral grooming scandal report will NOT be made public sparking “cover up” claims
A serious case review into the sickening campaign of the Rajenthiram brothers will be kept secret, sparking “cover up” claims
Nov 2017
Joe Thomas on the Rajenthiram brothers sentencing
The report from an inquiry into how two twisted paedophile brothers ran a campaign of child sexual exploitation and abuse will NOT be made public, it has been revealed.
The serious case review looking at council failings which allowed Ilavarasan and Vinothan Rajenthiram to groom girls as young as 14 from their convenience shop in Wirral will not be published – prompting allegations of a “cover up.”
The decision not to publish the review has been taken by the local safeguarding board and independently of Wirral Council – with the decision being made to protect the identity of one of the victims.
The safeguarding board denies any cover has taken place, adding that: “It would be morally wrong, and absolutely illegal, to risk identifying the victim of a sexual crime.”
Council officials believe “there was no way to publish the report which did not lead to a high risk of this child being identified.”
The sick Rajenthiram brothers targeted schoolgirls as young as 14 in a 6-year campaign from the Birkenhead shop run by their family, winning them over with free crisps and sweets.
They would then take advantage of the girls after whisking them out on drives in flash cars or plying them with alcohol at private flat parties.
After they were both jailed in May, the ECHO revealed how a catalogue of failings at the council allowed the pair to continue their campaign despite fears being raised, paving the way for them to commit more crimes and target more victims.
This led to Dr Maggie Atkinson, a leading expert in the field, being drafted in to overhaul the department.
But, at a meeting at Wallasey Town Hall last night it was revealed that the Serious Case Review, which has looked into the multiple failings of the council to protect victims from serious sexual assault at the hands of the Rajenthiram brothers will not be made public.
It is a decision that has been strongly criticised by the council’s Conservative group.
Cllr Paul Hayes, who was at the meeting, said: “We owe it to the victims of this tragic case to ensure that those who failed them are held accountable and that lessons are learnt, how could this possibly happen if this report remains secret and doesn’t see the light of day?
“Government guidelines are clear, reports such as this should be written so that victims cannot be identified but they should be published. The victims of these horrendous crimes should have their anonymity protected but the people in Wirral Council and other agencies who failed them should face public scrutiny. The decision to keep this report under lock and key will undoubtedly lead to accusations of a cover up.”
He added: “Wirral Council have already been condemned by OFSTED for failing the most vulnerable, if we are serious about ensuring children are protected the council should welcome public scrutiny of this report and I invite the Labour leadership of Wirral to join me in calling for its publication,”
Dr Maggie Atkinson, chair of the Local Safeguarding Board, said: “This Serious Case Review examines – in great detail – the circumstances surrounding the sexual abuse of a child.
“It was my view, as chair of the safeguarding board and entirely independent of the council and all public agencies involved, that there was no way to publish the report which did not lead to a high risk of this child being identified.
“I could not countenance that risk. It would be morally wrong, and absolutely illegal, to risk identifying the victim of a sexual crime.
Last year, watchdog Ofsted even went so far as to brand the department as inadequate.
Months later the director of Wirral’s children’s services decided it was the “right time” to step aside after overseeing an overhaul of her department following that damning Ofsted report.
Julia Hassall’s decision came on the same day it became clear the ECHO investigation into failings linked to the Rajenthiram case were set to be published, and weeks after questions were asked about her six year record in charge of the troubled department, and her suitability to continue.
Cllr Tony Smith lost his position as cabinet member for children and family services in a shake-up on the same day.
Prof Atkinson – a national expert in child safeguarding – was employed to help oversee changes.
And she believes that improvements have already been made – and that the same failings seen in the Rajenthiram case would not be repeated today.
That needs to be the case.
Everything must be done to protect our most vulnerable from the sick and twisted desires of criminals like the Rajenthirams.
That their abuse continued as it did for so long is a disgrace.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/wirral-grooming-scandal-report-not-13907027
