Isle Of Wight Named In Independent Report Into Organised Child Sexual Exploitation

The Isle of Wight has been named in a major independent report examining organised child sexual exploitation across the UK.

The 219-page report, published on Tuesday, identifies 149 local authority areas where so-called "rape gangs" are known or alleged to have operated over several decades.

The Isle of Wight is included among the local authority districts listed in the document, which examines patterns of organised child sexual abuse and the response of public bodies.

Authors of the report are highly critical of what they describe as an "institutional reluctance" among authorities to fully confront the scale of the issue.

The inquiry was spearheaded by Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe and funded through a public crowdfunding campaign known as The Rape Gang Inquiry.

According to the report's organisers, more than 20,000 members of the public contributed to the project, raising almost £800,000 to support research, legal advice and an independent panel overseeing the investigation.

The report brings together evidence from previous inquiries, court cases, witness testimony and publicly available information relating to child sexual exploitation across England and Wales.

Its publication is likely to add to ongoing national debate over how authorities respond to organised child abuse and whether further investigations are required.

The full report is available to read online.