GROOMING gangs are operating in every town and city in Scotland, a survivors expert fears.
Advocate Sandra Brown, 76, says mobs of “organised” offenders operate across the country at all levels of society preying on vulnerable adults and kids.
And she insists bringing down ringleaders is not always enough to smash entrenched networks with the chances of catching all those involved slim.
This week members of a Romanian grooming gang were convicted of raping and sexually abusing 10 women, and forcing one into prostitution, in Dundee.
Meanwhile, down south, furious rows have erupted after a bid to launch a national inquiry into grooming gangs was been voted down.
Sandra, who set up the Moira Anderson Foundation — named after the 11-year-old girl who disappeared in 1957 — which supports victims, says those who deny the existence of rings in Scotland are wrong. She said: “Our charity has existed for 25 years and we have come across these gangs time and time again. The big thing these groups have in common is that they are highly organised.
She said: “Our charity has existed for 25 years and we have come across these gangs time and time again.
“The big thing these groups have in common is that they are highly organised.
“They could be anybody, you could walk down the street and pass these men and you would never know it. Even when the police do manage to catch them, you can never be sure they have got them all.
“It makes it so difficult for survivors knowing these people could still be out there.”
Sandra revealed she has spoken with grooming gang survivors since she founded the charity for youngsters and adults affected by childhood sexual abuse in 2000.
She warns the scale of the problem is bigger than many people realise and says the idea perpetrators only come from immigrant or Muslim backgrounds is wrong.
Sandra added: “Gangs use whatever they can to manipulate children, including sweets, drugs, alcohol or even the promise of a trip to Disneyland. You do get people who really believe these things don’t happen in Scotland. It is very clear they have and they still do.
“The reluctance to discuss the issue and the stifling of conversation makes it more difficult for victims to come forward and the police to catch those responsible. Many survivors’ worst fear is that they will not be believed and they’re having to fight against this from the outset. Reporting what’s happened and going to trial can be incredibly traumatic.
“I’ve seen a case collapse because an eight-year-old boy broke down on the stand and wasn’t able to keep going on. A whole group of men walked free and could still be out there today.”
Five members of a Romanian grooming gang were warned they face a long time behind bars after being convicted for preying on 10 victims during two years of horror in Dundee.
Ringleader Mircea Cumpanasoiu, 37, Christian Urlateanu, 41, Alexandra Bugonea, 34, Remus Stan, 34, and Cataline Dobre, 44, were found guilty of an “appalling catalogue of rape, sexual abuse and exploitation of extremely vulnerable, mostly young or very young women” between 2021 and 2022.
Sandra says it’s not just street thugs behind the gangs and revealed one former foundation worker told her she and other children had been molested by high-ranking lawyers in the 70s and 80s.
The woman says she was taken to “parties” at flats in Edinburgh where she and other kids were abused by her solicitor dad and his legal colleagues. Her bravery helped caged sex beast QC John Watt, 75, for 10 years for attacks on three girls and a boy over 14 years.
And in 2016, police smashed a huge 55-strong asylum seeker grooming gang operating in Glasgow with at least 44 victims.
One girl was abused by 28 men — but the investigation was kept under wraps by police who say they “carefully consider” what information they release to “protect vulnerable victims and the integrity of the inquiry”.
A report from the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit laid bare the scale of the depravity, with 22 men still living in the city, eight others scattered across the UK, 14 deported, one awaiting deportation and just one in prison at the time it was released.
Sandra added: “You can never tell who might be involved, they could be our neighbours.”
Retired undercover cop Simon McLean, 65, spent decades investigating some of the most grisly crimes in the country and says gangs have become experts at isolating those who need extra help.
He said: “Organised crime doesn’t simply fill vacuums, it cultivates them. By fostering instability, creating dependencies and perpetuating cycles of fear and need, they ensure their grip remains unchallenged.
“In turn, this dark undercurrent feeds off human vulnerability — poverty, greed, desperation, or ambition — ensnaring individuals and entire communities in webs of exploitation.”