UK: 14-year-old Charlene Downes disappeared 20 years in the past, her homicide case stays unsolved to at the present time

On March 25, 2023, Charlene Downes would have turned 33. She was 14 when she abruptly went lacking from her hometown of Blackpool in Lancashire on November 1st, 2003. Downes was feared to be groomed by Muslim gangs and murdered. Her physique was allegedly minced into items and served as kebabs to prospects at a takeaway restaurant within the space.

It is noteworthy that the Lancashire police, probing the case, initially handled Charlene’s disappearance as a runaway teenager however it quickly grew to become clear one thing extra sinister had occurred to the woman. The police confirmed that Charlene could have been linked to grooming gangs in Blackpool and stated that they found at the least 60 minor women had been sexually groomed at takeaways within the metropolis.

They arrested two accused Ilyad Albattikh and Mohammed Reveshi, who had been later acquitted by the courtroom as a result of lack of proof. Lancashire police had been chastised for his or her inept dealing with of the case.

This heinous case which stays unsolved to at the present time, served as a wake-up name to how Muslim grooming gangs proceed to function with impunity within the North of England, with the rapists remaining at giant, primarily as a result of police are too afraid of backlash for mentioning the ethnic origins of the Muslim male perpetrators.

Charlene Downes (supply: dailymail.co.uk)
The timeline of the case

As per media experiences, on November 1, 2003, at round 3.35 pm, Charlene was seen on CCTV crossing the street within the city centre.

At 7.15 p.m., her mom kissed Charlene after operating into her, and her daughter acknowledged she was heading to the arcade however wouldn’t be late. She met her good friend they usually went to the Carousel bar on North Pier.

At 9.03 pm Charlene was allegedly noticed on CCTV exterior a Blackpool bar with a girl carrying a black coat.

Police launched CCTV footage of Charlene (circled) strolling within the seaside city (Source: dailymail.co.uk)

Charlene’s household reported her lacking on November 2 after she did not return residence.

But, it wasn’t till 2006 that police knowledgeable Charlene’s household that she had been murdered and that the case was now not a lacking particular person investigation.

Days later, the Police introduced a serious breakthrough within the case. They stated that they arrested a 51-year-old man who lived in Blackpool on the time of Charlene’s disappearance. A Lancashire Police spokesman stated, that “the man, aged 51, who lived in Blackpool at the time of Charlene’s disappearance, is currently in custody.”

A person has this morning been arrested on suspicion of the homicide of Blackpool teenager Charlene Downes. https://t.co/c7zd4qybAu pic.twitter.com/6QeCXzk5mT

— Lancashire Police (@LancsPolice) August 1, 2017

Subsequently, in May 2007, two males specifically Ilyad Albattikh and Mohammed Reveshi had been tried in courtroom. Albattikh for Downes’ homicide, the Mohammed Reveshi for serving to to get rid of her physique, however the courtroom failed to achieve a verdict.

However, the 2007 homicide trial was referred to as off as a result of police errors, and the IPCC watchdog determined that the killer could by no means be positioned.

A retrial was scheduled in April 2008. At the time of the trial, the courtroom was informed the quick meals store proprietor had “joked” that Charlene Downes had been chopped up and put into kebabs that had been bought to the general public. However, as a result of reservations in regards to the proof produced by Lancashire Constabulary, the accused had been acquitted and likewise paid virtually £250,000 every in compensation.

After receiving robust criticism for failing to totally examine the case, Lancashire police revived the inquiry in 2016 and found new CCTV footage exhibiting Charlene strolling together with her sister Rebecca on the day she vanished. On the thirteenth anniversary of her disappearance in November, the CCTV footage was lastly made public.

Parents of Charlene Downes accuse Lancashire police of mishandling the case

In 2017, her mother and father, Karen and Robert, vowed to sue Lancashire Police after studying essential CCTV footage of her final actions was sat in archives for 12 years. The CCTV footage confirmed Charlene strolling together with her sister Rebecca on the day she vanished.

Charlene’s mom Karen Downes (supply: dailymail.co.uk)

The mother and father lamented that if the footage had been obtainable before the 2007 homicide trial, which resulted within the acquittal of Funny Boys kebab employee Ilyad Albattikh for homicide and Mohammed Reveshi for disposal of Charlene’s physique owing to police error, issues may have turned out in a different way.

“It is unbelievable that they have had that footage all those years and never used it. It is an absolute disgrace and an insult to the memory of my dead daughter. Maybe If the CCTV was shown at the time I could have got justice years ago and put Charlene to rest but now my pain continues,” the aggrieved mom fumed.

“And instead of helping me, the police add to it as they never tell me anything and seem determined to keep me in the dark,” she added.

Karen had asserted that she is taking civil motion towards Lancashire Police and is looking for damages and a public apology over their dealing with of the investigation.

The horrifying case garnered loads of media consideration. Despite a prolonged and complicated investigation, quite a few media appeals and a £100,000 reward provided, the Lancashire police till now, discovered no hint of Charlene. It additionally stated that there isn’t any suggestion that the arrests of the 2 Blackpool males are immediately related to Charlene’s homicide.

The Lancashire police had stated that investigation into the case revealed that she was amongst the numerous youngsters who had been groomed by Muslim gangs working close to the situation the place she was final seen in November 2003.

In 2011, officers investigating Charlene’s case found that at the least 60 schoolgirls had been groomed for intercourse by workers of takeaway eateries in Blackpool.

The police thought the case to be just like the Rochdale youngster abuse incident, the place they had been groomed in alternate for meals, drink, and cigarettes. They suspected Charlene was one of many victims too.

A Crimewatch enchantment was issued in 2014, and the police introduced a £100,000 prize for data.

Lancashire Police detained two males on suspicion of earlier intercourse offences – however not particularly towards Charlene – on June 27 2016, as a part of their investigation into Charlene’s homicide.

Lancashire Police officers have taken over 4,800 witness accounts and explored 10,500 strains of enquiry, but the case stays unresolved.

The investigation into her case is one in every of Lancashire Police’s largest and longest-running investigations. Nearly 20 years on, although the UK’s Lancashire police are nonetheless no nearer to fixing her homicide, the case has positively drawn the eye of authorities in direction of the broader difficulty of kid sexual exploitation by Muslim grooming gangs working within the area and varied others within the United Kingdom.

Inquiry finds over 1,000 youngsters had been groomed by Muslim gangs and authorities appeared away as a result of ‘racial unease’

Notably, in July 2022, an unbiased inquiry into Telford sexual exploitation case revealed how authorities appeared away within the matter the place over 1,000 youngsters had been groomed by Muslim gangs simply due to racial unease. The report discovered that the important thing companies investigating the matter dismissed youngster exploitation as “child prostitution.” They blamed the kids for the state of affairs and never the perpetrators.

The unbiased chair that investigated the case submitted the report on July 12, during which they concluded that the investigating companies had been nervous in regards to the race of the accused and didn’t examine the case correctly. They added that the youth employees and lecturers had been discouraged from reporting the offences and exploitation of youngsters. The steps had been taken by the authorities to disregard the matter resulted within the exploitation of the kids for years.

As per experiences, there had been a widespread grooming nexus within the city since 1989. The unbiased chair discovered that the lads would method women whereas being disguised as taxi drivers or meals supply drivers. Then they’d pursue them to be their ‘girlfriend.’ These males would give the women lifts. They would purchase alcohol and cigarettes for them and later pursue them to take pleasure in sexual actions. The youngsters had been made to imagine that all the pieces that occurred was regular.