The quick-thinking actions of a taxi driver stopped two girls from potentially being sexually exploited after he called his concerns into police in Leicestershire.
A taxi driver picked up two girls, who he believed to be around 15 or 16 years old, from an address in Leicester on Sunday evening (2 June).
During the journey, he became concerned around the content of the girls’ conversation, which included references to alcohol, sex and drugs.
The driver dropped off the girls at the agreed address where they were met by a man who walked them inside.
Fearing that the girls were being sexually exploited, the driver called the police.
Officers attended the flat and forced entry after entry was refused.
Four men were arrested on suspicion of arranging or facilitating a commission of a child sex act and have been released under investigation.
Police confirmed that the girls who were found at the address and have been spoken to by officers.
Detective Inspector Jenni Heggs, from the force’s Multi-Agency CSE team, said:
“Last year as part of our ongoing work to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE), materials were distributed among taxi drivers, hoteliers and licensed premises across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to help their staff recognise the signs of child sexual exploitation.
“People who work in these industries are in a unique position to spot the signs of CSE whether it’s a taxi driver who notices all may not be right with passengers in their vehicle, hotel reception staff looking out for unusual bookings or bar staff being alert to a number of indicators and raising the alarm if necessary.
“Reports such as this help us build the bigger picture around CSE, and I would like to praise the driver for contacting police.
“He noticed something which didn’t seem right with him, and he made the right decision by reporting his concerns.
“This latest report shows that our message is being listened to and people are helping the police and other agencies in the fight against eradicating CSE but this something that we must all continue to work together on.
“I would encourage everyone to know the risks around CSE, spot the signs and speak out to help us safeguard victims and bring their abusers to justice.”
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
