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Original poster

Why has this West Sussex family abuse case had so little coverage?

117 replies

JoyousOpalLemur · 30/06/2026 09:47

This is from a few weeks ago but apart from it being covered on a local police website and a couple of local news sites, it's barely received any national coverage and nothing on BBC News, even BBC Sussex.

Five men and one women in West Sussex have been jailed for 100 years for 39 offences, including rape and child cruelty, against two girls.

The men were the girls' two adult brothers, their father, their uncle and their grandfather, and the woman was their mother.

In the police report it says the girls were both under the age of 13, but in the press reports it suggests that older sister was 12 when she reported the abuse to a teacher, and revealed it had been going on for six years.

When she told her mother of the abuse, her mother burnt her with cigarettes as punishment.

This, to me, is worse than the Josef Fritzl story, which was an international sensation.

https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/sussex/news/court-results/family-members-sentenced-for-abusing-two-girls-in-sussex/

OP posts:
sunshinestar1986 · 30/06/2026 16:49

This has got to be the saddest and most awful story
Poor poor girls
3 generations?!

Jellycatspyjamas · 30/06/2026 17:00

Persephonia1966 · 30/06/2026 16:45

I can remember a while back there was an awful case of a woman being orally raped while she was having a C-section. The nurses filmed it and put it on twitter in an attempt to raise awareness/ensure something was done. Which worked. Unfortunately the video was then shared and reshared and watches repeatedly, mostly by men. So in addition to the initial violation the video of that violation became one of the most watched videos on Twitter. How awful to have footage of your rape whilst you were unconscious viewed by so many strangers. The (mostly men) resharing the video were not doing it to "raise awareness". Awareness had already been raised. They were sharing it for their own personal gratification (whether sexual or otherwise.)

Likely, while awareness of child sexual abuse is important.... The clamouring on here for details, the crossness that a story wasn't pushed hard enough by the media (it was reported extensively and was there if you looked), the demand for a feeding frenzy, gossipping about all the information you were able to dig up. The (false) claims that it would have been reported more if the perpetrators weren't (according to speculation) from a minority along with a sense of personal grievance that you are being deprived somehow by this imaginary decision...

None of that is coming from a place of concern for the children..it isn't. People need to be honest with themselves. It doesn't have to be sexual voyeurism. It might be coming from a need to create a victim/rescuer dynamic. Or because knowing about horrible things is entertainment. But it's still not a nice thing to do.

Edited

What the actual fuck did those nurses think they were doing - if they don’t have the common sense to know not to share - or indeed to film in the first place - there’s no help for humanity.

Persephonia1966 · 30/06/2026 17:06

Jellycatspyjamas · 30/06/2026 17:00

What the actual fuck did those nurses think they were doing - if they don’t have the common sense to know not to share - or indeed to film in the first place - there’s no help for humanity.

Show quote history

I think the implication.was the man doing it had been doing it for a while to different victims while they were asleep, he was more powerful than them (male and higher in the hospital hierarchy) and they had zero faith in the hospital authorities. I can understand the need to film it to prove it was happening TBH. The putting it on twitter is much more questionable. It's why, while "citizen journalism" and members of the public exposing things can be really important (we wouldn't know about some issues without it) there's also a danger in people with none of the training or (already meagre) ethical boundaries that "legacy" journalists are supposed to have.

awaynboilyurheid · 30/06/2026 17:07

Beamsss · 30/06/2026 16:09

If there is a suggestion safeguarding failings were made, there must be better ways to address that than putting it all over the papers?

Show quote history

True I hadn’t thought of it that way just thought that the school may have failed them apologies.

Squirrelintree · 30/06/2026 17:09

West Sussex is a rural and extremely white county. There is an extremely high percentage of retirees so I suspect that the school-age population is relatively low. I know someone who went to a state school there and in a year group of about 250, there were about 5 non-white people. Life was not easy for them. The trial took place in Hove, which is in East Sussex, a different county. The Express article quotes one of the girls as saying she had money gifted at Eid taken away from her so there appears to be an assumption that the family is Muslim and potentially not white. There is quite a strong anti-immigrant sentiment in some areas of the county (e.g. Bognor Regis). Whilst I would guess that this family probably live in somewhere more urban like Crawley, it would make sense to be as vague as possible and to hold the trial in a different county to protect the victims' identity as much as possible. I truly hope that they have been provided with new identities and the care that they need in a completely different part of the country so that they have a chance of a decent life. What a horrible horrible thing for a whole family to do to their daughters. Horrible. I agree with OP that it is surprising that this has not made national news, but hopefully that is to protect the poor girls involved who must be around 13 or 14 now.

mcmuffin22 · 30/06/2026 17:14

HoldMyWine · 30/06/2026 10:05

I guess because no one can be named due to protecting the victim’s anonymity, make it difficult to write a decent article on it? Absolutely horrific case .

I think this is key. Also, media have to be careful about publishing anything which may lead to jigsaw identification of the victims eg. If one published the area, another a bit more about the family set up etc it would not take much to identify them. And really the only way they can hope to get the help they need to have the futures they deserve, everyone really does need to protect their identity.

HelenaWilson · 30/06/2026 17:44

I think the implication was the man doing it had been doing it for a while to different victims while they were asleep, he was more powerful than them (male and higher in the hospital hierarchy) and they had zero faith in the hospital authorities.

And it didn't occur to them to report it to the police? What with them having evidence of a crime being committed? Where was their respect for the victim of the crime?

Meadowfinch · 30/06/2026 18:24

wishingonastar101 · 30/06/2026 12:39

Poor little things. I hope they find peace in their lives and the scumbags who did this rot.

And I hope the perpetrators' crimes are widely known in prison, so they can be treated with the utter contempt they deserve.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 30/06/2026 18:25

Reading the details of the case it’s absolutely sickening. Three generations involved too. Chemical castration should be given to the perpetrators and I’m sorry but also the death penalty too. Horrific.

Original poster
JoyousOpalLemur · 30/06/2026 19:14

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 30/06/2026 18:25

Reading the details of the case it’s absolutely sickening. Three generations involved too. Chemical castration should be given to the perpetrators and I’m sorry but also the death penalty too. Horrific.

I don't know if I'm even allowed to say it, but completely agree.

OP posts:
likelysuspect · 30/06/2026 19:19

The press and media prefer stories of stranger abuse I think, plus as someone said, it will be or would have been reported more if there was blame to schools/social services/police

So this may well be reported more then if thats the case (or perceived as the case)

But as others have said, what more is there to know. The girls were abused by their own family, not uncommon Im afraid. Thank god they were found guilty and put away.

likelysuspect · 30/06/2026 19:25

Persephonia1966 · 30/06/2026 16:45

I can remember a while back there was an awful case of a woman being orally raped while she was having a C-section. The nurses filmed it and put it on twitter in an attempt to raise awareness/ensure something was done. Which worked. Unfortunately the video was then shared and reshared and watches repeatedly, mostly by men. So in addition to the initial violation the video of that violation became one of the most watched videos on Twitter. How awful to have footage of your rape whilst you were unconscious viewed by so many strangers. The (mostly men) resharing the video were not doing it to "raise awareness". Awareness had already been raised. They were sharing it for their own personal gratification (whether sexual or otherwise.)

Likely, while awareness of child sexual abuse is important.... The clamouring on here for details, the crossness that a story wasn't pushed hard enough by the media (it was reported extensively and was there if you looked), the demand for a feeding frenzy, gossipping about all the information you were able to dig up. The (false) claims that it would have been reported more if the perpetrators weren't (according to speculation) from a minority along with a sense of personal grievance that you are being deprived somehow by this imaginary decision...

None of that is coming from a place of concern for the children..it isn't. People need to be honest with themselves. It doesn't have to be sexual voyeurism. It might be coming from a need to create a victim/rescuer dynamic. Or because knowing about horrible things is entertainment. But it's still not a nice thing to do.

Edited

Where was this case from?

likelysuspect · 30/06/2026 19:26

Persephonia1966 · 30/06/2026 12:35

It sounds like the police did a very good job if investigating the allegations and building a strong enough case to get a guilty verdict. It sounds like it should be easy, but actually it isn't when there is a risk that (for completely understandable reasons) the victims will try to take back their initial allegations. Especially when the victims are so young and their welfare needs to be protected. It also sounds (obviously don't have all the information) like the teachers at her school were proactive in reporting the signs of abuse to the right people once they knew. If the teacher hadn't followed up on the child saying she was too scared to go home then, horrifyingly, the abuse would still likely be happening and it wouldn't be in the media at all.

So, as someone else said, it isnt as big a story because there's no astoundinf institutional failure angle. In fact the angle is "institution (police and teacher safeguarding training) works exactly as we would want it to." Which is rightly what we should expect so is less newsworthy. And of course none of that takes away from how awful it was that it happened at all.

Yes exactly this

Good practice all round and actually very well done to get convictions, its so rare.

CurlewKate · 30/06/2026 19:52

God, I do hate prurient “wanting to know” posts. You know what happened. What more do you want to know? Not caring about the anonymity of the victims-just wanting to rub hands gleefully over the salacious details. Just yuck.

Original poster
JoyousOpalLemur · 30/06/2026 20:19

CurlewKate · 30/06/2026 19:52

God, I do hate prurient “wanting to know” posts. You know what happened. What more do you want to know? Not caring about the anonymity of the victims-just wanting to rub hands gleefully over the salacious details. Just yuck.

When did anyone say they wanted to know more?

Why would you even think that?

The entire framing has been about the media - especially the BBC - IGNORING the story and failing to report on what the police had put out there to be reported on.

The fact that you've deliberately lied and pretended anyone asked for more prurient details .. erm, as you rightly said, just yuck!

OP posts:
NoCommentingFromNowOn · 30/06/2026 20:25

JoyousOpalLemur · 30/06/2026 20:19

When did anyone say they wanted to know more?

Why would you even think that?

The entire framing has been about the media - especially the BBC - IGNORING the story and failing to report on what the police had put out there to be reported on.

The fact that you've deliberately lied and pretended anyone asked for more prurient details .. erm, as you rightly said, just yuck!

Show quote history

When did anyone say they wanted to know more?

Curlew Kate said ’wanting to know’, not ‘wanting to know more’.

You said ’Because it's one of the most shocking stories I've ever heard and I'd like to know what happened.’ You would ‘like to know’.

Gingernaut · 30/06/2026 20:27

JoyousOpalLemur · 30/06/2026 09:47

This is from a few weeks ago but apart from it being covered on a local police website and a couple of local news sites, it's barely received any national coverage and nothing on BBC News, even BBC Sussex.

Five men and one women in West Sussex have been jailed for 100 years for 39 offences, including rape and child cruelty, against two girls.

The men were the girls' two adult brothers, their father, their uncle and their grandfather, and the woman was their mother.

In the police report it says the girls were both under the age of 13, but in the press reports it suggests that older sister was 12 when she reported the abuse to a teacher, and revealed it had been going on for six years.

When she told her mother of the abuse, her mother burnt her with cigarettes as punishment.

This, to me, is worse than the Josef Fritzl story, which was an international sensation.

https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/sussex/news/court-results/family-members-sentenced-for-abusing-two-girls-in-sussex/

Sussex is a small county and jigsaw identification could identify the girls - they were related to their torturers

likelysuspect · 30/06/2026 20:32

JoyousOpalLemur · 30/06/2026 20:19

When did anyone say they wanted to know more?

Why would you even think that?

The entire framing has been about the media - especially the BBC - IGNORING the story and failing to report on what the police had put out there to be reported on.

The fact that you've deliberately lied and pretended anyone asked for more prurient details .. erm, as you rightly said, just yuck!

Show quote history

You said you wanted to know what happened

You know what happened. The children were raped and when reported to their mother they were physically abused by her.

Thats what happened

Theres been a trial, the perpetrators were found guilty and sentenced to custodial sentences

Thats what happened.

So what more do you what to know about what happened?

Beamsss · 30/06/2026 20:35

JoyousOpalLemur · 30/06/2026 20:19

When did anyone say they wanted to know more?

Why would you even think that?

The entire framing has been about the media - especially the BBC - IGNORING the story and failing to report on what the police had put out there to be reported on.

The fact that you've deliberately lied and pretended anyone asked for more prurient details .. erm, as you rightly said, just yuck!

Show quote history

But what could anyone report if it wasn't "more"? The original reports are aleady out there, why would you think news outlets should keep repeating the same information?

VivienneDelacroix · 30/06/2026 20:41

sparrowhawkhere · 30/06/2026 12:09

I’m assuming that they don’t want to fan the flames as it’s a non- white family. Just awful, those poor girls. Thank goodness one girl was able to tell her school.

And down the gutter we go.

It's not about that at all, it's about protecting the poor victims. This was an horrific crime committed within a family, there's no need for any public information to exist at all. Any further information will have local communities speculating and doing even more damage to the girls' lives.

The public appetite for this kind of detail is salacious and predatory. Women become tabloid fodder satisfying either salivating vampires or political points scoring.

Tryagain26 · 30/06/2026 21:13

JoyousOpalLemur · 30/06/2026 10:54

Because it's one of the most shocking stories I've ever heard and I'd like to know what happened.

Why do you watch the news?

Show quote history

The welfare of the children and their anonymity is much more important than individuals knowing what happened. I don't think the general public need to know the details

OutOfApricots · 30/06/2026 21:33

Dollymylove · 30/06/2026 10:34

Thats true and at the moment it seems to be all about the spoilt Ginger ex prince tantrumming that he has been denied tax payer funded security while he swans around the UK 🫤

Show quote history

What - again?😑

CurlewKate · 01/07/2026 04:43

JoyousOpalLemur · 30/06/2026 20:19

When did anyone say they wanted to know more?

Why would you even think that?

The entire framing has been about the media - especially the BBC - IGNORING the story and failing to report on what the police had put out there to be reported on.

The fact that you've deliberately lied and pretended anyone asked for more prurient details .. erm, as you rightly said, just yuck!

Show quote history

You said that because it was shocking you wanted to know what happened. As the news reports say what happened, you can only mean you want more details. What good reason can you have for that?

PeonyBulb · 01/07/2026 04:56

This reply has been deleted

Deleted as potentially identifying information, please do not repost.