Karen MacGregor

Karen MacGregor, 58, from Barnsley Road, Wath, South Yorkshire, was convicted at Sheffield Crown Court of conspiracy to procure prostitutes and false imprisonment. Her involvement centred on befriending and housing a vulnerable teenage girl in the late 1980s, only to subject her to forced sexual encounters with men in exchange for shelter as part of the Rotherham abuse network operating from 1987 to 2003.

The trial heard from a victim, now 43, who lived with MacGregor after being befriended by her and Shelley Davies. She described being brought men to the house and coerced into sex acts, effectively prostituted under the guise of care. MacGregor's actions contributed to the systematic exploitation alongside the Hussain family and others, targeting girls for degrading abuse.

Peter Mann of the CPS outlined the facilitation: 'They targeted these teenage girls because they were vulnerable and then facilitated their systematic sexual abuse.' South Yorkshire Police's Det Ch Insp Martin Tate praised the victims' courage: 'The tremendous bravery and fortitude shown by the victims during the two-month trial.'

This conviction was part of the response to the Rotherham scandal exposed in the 2014 Jay report, which detailed how 1,400 children were groomed and abused due to institutional neglect. MacGregor's role highlighted the involvement of women in the exploitation. She was set to be sentenced on the Friday following the trial, bringing some justice to long-suffering survivors.