The family of a grooming victim say they are “angry” and “heartbroken” that prosecutors didn’t see a video of her police interview during their investigations.

Jodie Sheeran, then 15, was allegedly taken to a hotel and raped in November 2004.

She’s believed to have been groomed by young men of Pakistani heritage for a year beforehand. Jodie’s son, Jayden, was born nine months later.

A man was charged, but the case was dropped a day before the trial was meant to start in 2005.

Her father, David, said they were told it was because Jodie had a “reckless lifestyle” and was “an unreliable witness”, but that they never received a formal reason.

In July, he told Sky’s The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee he thinks police “bottled it” because they were worried about being called racist.

Jodie died in November 2022 from an alcohol-related death.

It’s now emerged the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) didn’t view the video of Jodie’s police interview as it “was not shared with us” and they didn’t know at the time that it still existed.

Instead, they only had a transcript of what she told officers.

It’s unclear exactly why this happened, but Staffordshire Police said the footage was available in 2019, when the CPS and police reviewed the case, and in 2023, when the investigation was opened again.

“I don’t know if I’ve been misled [or] it was an accident,” Jodie’s mother, Angela, told Sky News’ Sarah-Jane Mee.

“To suddenly say evidence has been there all along – and I’ve got every single letter, every email to tell me they haven’t got the evidence any more… and then it’s emerged Staffordshire Police did have the evidence after all – it was shocking really.”

The CPS watched the video last month and said the transcript is an accurate representation of what Jodie says on the tape.

However, it hasn’t changed their view that there’s no realistic prospect of conviction – and won’t be taking any further action.

Jodie’s father told Sky News he believes it shows the police and CPS “didn’t know what one another were doing – and it makes you so angry”.

“I feel like they’ve gotten away with it,” added Jodie’s son Jayden. “It’s years on now – I’m grateful they’ve found the evidence but what are they doing about it?”

‘I’ll keep fighting until I get justice’

Angela said it shows that other families in a similar situation shouldn’t “take no for an answer” from police or the CPS.

“Since losing a child, nothing else matters, so I’m not going anywhere,” she said.

“So I will keep fighting and fighting and fighting until I get justice for Jodie – and hopefully justice for probably thousands of other victims out there as well.”

A national inquiry into grooming gangs was announced in June after a series of cases uncovered sexual abuse of mainly white girls by men of predominately Pakistani heritage had taken place in a number of towns and cities.

A Staffordshire Police spokesperson said their thoughts remain with Jodie’s family and that a “significant amount of work has been undertaken reviewing this case several times”.

They said the interview video was “available to the Senior Investigating Officers in 2019 and 2023” and a “comprehensive contemporaneous written record” of it was given to the CPS on both occasions.

The statement added: “In August 2025, a copy of the recording was provided to the CPS who conducted due diligence to ensure the contemporaneous written record of Jodie’s ABE interview, that they reviewed in 2019 and 2023, was an accurate account of the video recording. They have confirmed this is the case.”

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Police said the case had been submitted for a further evidential review.

“Should any new evidence come to light, it will be referred to the CPS for their consideration,” the spokesperson added.

The CPS said: “We carried out reviews of our decision-making in this case in 2019 and 2023 using records provided by Staffordshire Police – both these reviews found that there was not enough evidence to charge the suspect with rape.

“While we requested all available records, Jodie’s video interview from 2005 was not shared with us, we were not informed that it had been retained, and it was only made available to our prosecutors recently after further requests.

“Having cross-referenced the video with detailed accounts of it previously available to us, we have determined that the conclusions we reached in our previous reviews still stand.”

:: Watch the full interview on The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee from 8pm on Tuesday

Children sexually abusing other children has become a “crisis” in the UK, experts have told Sky News.

This report contains details you may find distressing.

The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) says there has been a pronounced rise in child-on-child abuse – and data for group-based offending shows it is now more prevalent than incidents involving grooming gangs.

The “shocking” statistics show there has been a “fundamental shift” in offending, NAPAC chief executive Gabrielle Shaw told Sky News.

Latest child sexual abuse and exploitation crime figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) for England and Wales show that, where age was recorded, 52% of all perpetrators were between the ages of 10-17.

Some 41% of these relate to indecent images of children.

Most of these nude images are taken by teenagers of themselves before they are shared with a partner as part of “experimental” behaviour.

But at the other end of the offending scale, 17% of sexual crimes that are committed against children by other children are rape offences.

Richard Fewkes, director of NPCC’s child sexual exploitation taskforce, warns that consensual exchanging of intimate images can end up in coercion and blackmail, with easy access to violent pornography partly behind this disturbing trend in children abusing children.

“For a generation of boys, in particular, then very often they see that as normal behaviour,” he told Sky News. “They act it out, with girls.”

Teenagers sharing indecent images of each other may be recorded as crimes due to the legal age of consent, according to Richard Fewkes.

Inside the call centre on the frontline

Warning: This section contains references to child sexual abuse

There’s a shrill ring as the first call of the day comes in. “You’re through to someone you can talk to.”

We’ve been given exclusive access to NAPAC’s helpline in Stockport, where call handlers speak to victims who have suffered all types of abuse.

The man who has called the helpline was so badly beaten as a child by his father that he was left with broken bones.

The victim is now having to care for his elderly father, triggering painful memories.

“He just wanted that safe space,” says call handler Claire Tong.

“He said, ‘Thank god there’s people like you that I can talk to’.”

NAPAC’s support service hears from around 10,000 victims every year – and the organisation also works with police in responding to group-based sexual offending.

Through our day at the helpline, we get a grim snapshot into the lives of ordinary people across the UK who have suffered unimaginable pain.

Children ritually abused to ‘raise demon’

Sam Booth has worked at NAPAC for a decade, first as a volunteer and now as a supervisor.

She shows me the themes of last week’s calls written on a whiteboard and one stands out – ritual abuse.

“Satanic ritual abuse is abuse by a group of people,” Sam says.

“They have robes on with hoods. They could be a child or a teenager, they could be ritually, sexually abused ….to raise some kind of demon.”

Sam says multiple people have called, triggered by the smell of soil. As children, they had been buried to the point of death before being revived.

Victims can be signposted to other services, for example if they want to pursue legal action or therapy.

Support can mean difference between life and death

Among those to have been helped by NAPAC is Sadie, who was sexually abused by her biological father when she was a young child.

Sadie, not her real name, says her childhood memories are “the constant feeling of being dissociated from your body, always having stomach aches, feeling unclean”.

Sadie’s email to NAPAC, fully disclosing the abuse for the first time, was the crucial step towards getting direct support.

For some victims, their call could be the difference between life and death.

Holly Aisbett, who has worked for NAPAC for three years, says a conversation that stands out to her was with a suicidal woman calling from a bridge.

“We were probably on the phone for about an hour; she did eventually tell us her location,” says Holly.

“We reported it to the police, we don’t often do that, but obviously when things escalate, we do have a duty of care.”

All the NAPAC staff we spoke to admit to being impacted by challenging calls every day. But they continue to handle them with empathy.

“You get a really good feeling when you get a caller talking to you about something they’ve never told anyone,” says Sam.

“You feel privileged that they’re able to talk to you.”

Mr Fewkes said there is no easy solution to the crisis of children abusing children, but he believes better education for parents and young people is a crucial step in the right direction.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are taking forward a wide range of actions to help prevent child sexual abuse, bring more offenders to justice, and improve the support available to victims and survivors.

“A review is currently underway to look at how best to support school staff in handling cases of child sexual abuse. This sits alongside increased funding for the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which works to prevent harmful sexual behaviour among children and young people.”

For NAPAC support, call 0808 801 0331 or email support@napac.org.uk

Sir Ed Davey will call on US experts fleeing an “anti-science agenda” to come to the UK, and pledge to make curing cancer a “top priority”.

The Liberal Democrat leader will use his keynote speech at the party’s annual conference in Bournemouth today to call for a dedicated fellowship scheme to attract American scientists.

The finale of the party’s annual meeting will see him turn his ire on Donald Trump, having spent the past few days criticising tech titan Elon Musk and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Sir Ed is expected to warn that “what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic” is the “biggest threat to the fight against cancer”.

“The US is by far the world’s biggest funder of cancer research – mostly through its National Cancer Institute,” the leader will say.

“But since Donald Trump returned to the White House, he has cancelled hundreds of grants for cancer research projects.

“He’s slashing billions of dollars from the National Cancer Institute’s budget.”

Sir Ed will appeal to scientists who have had projects cancelled or funding cut to “come here and finish it in the UK”.

He believes a dedicated scheme should be established to allow them to move to work at British research institutions, without having to pay large visa fees.

Sir Ed has is the only English party leader to explicitly criticise Mr Trump, and refused an invite to the state banquet with the King at Windsor Castle as part of the US president’s state visit last week.

‘Cast-iron guarantee’ for cancer patients

Sir Ed will also use his speech to pledge to boost healthcare and cancer research more widely.

He is expected to tell party members: “The UK should step up and say: if Trump won’t back this research, we will.

“We’ll boost funding for cancer research in the UK. We’ll rebuild a National Cancer Research Institute, after it was closed under the Conservatives, to coordinate research and drive it forward.

“We’ll pass a Cancer Survival Research Act to ensure funding for research into the deadliest cancers.”

He will announce a “cast-iron guarantee” that each patient in the UK diagnosed with cancer will start treatment within two months.

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Sir Ed will also accuse Reform members of supporting the Trump administration’s move to cut millions of pounds of research into mRNA vaccines, based on “totally false conspiracy theories”.

He will say they members “enthusiastically applauded” the decision at the party’s conference earlier this month.

It follows the Liberal Democrat leader refusing to rule out making a deal with Labour after the next general election to help keep Reform out of government.

Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, Sir Ed said he would “wait to see the result of the next election” before deciding on any agreement.

Across the conference, Sir Ed has also:

• Accused Elon Musk of being a “criminal [for] allowing online harm to children” on his social media platform X, insisting he’s not concerned about being sued by the billionaire for saying so despite him not being charged;
• Suggested the Lib Dems could win “way more” than 100 seats at the next general election;
• And accused the BBC of scrutinising Reform less than other political parties.

The Liberal Democrats have already used the conference to announce plans for a windfall tax on big banks to help homeowners install solar panels and insulation, and propose cigarette-style health warnings on social media apps to protect children.

They also want to introduce a law to ban ministers from lobbying on behalf of foreign leaders.