WEBVTT 1 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:42.439 My daughter has been their returned alder shame for dream. 2 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:54.600 For over one hundred and fifty years, Blackpool has been 3 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:58.200 Britain's playground by the sea. What started as a modest 4 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:02.560 Victorian resort on the Lancashire coast grew into something uniquely British. 5 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:06.799 It was a place where working class families could escape 6 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.760 their factories in terrace streets for a week of sea 7 00:01:09.879 --> 00:01:13.719 air and entertainment. In By two thousand and three, Blackpool 8 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:17.680 was adapting to change package holidays to Spain and Beyond 9 00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:21.680 attempted many people away, leaving britain seaside resorts to fight 10 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:26.480 for their place, but still Blackpool injured. That year, Halloween 11 00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:29.959 fell on a Sunday. Blackpool embraced the occasion with its 12 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:35.319 usual flare shot windows displayed plastic skeletons and artificial cobwebs. 13 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:39.680 Pumpkins sat carved and glowing, and pubs organized Halloween Knights 14 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:44.359 to entice locals and tourists alike. The winter gardens hosted 15 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:48.599 large themed parties and the streets filled with costumed revelers. 16 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:53.120 For a weekend, Blackpool was alive, with people moving between venues, 17 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:56.319 their voices carrying above the noise of the arcades and 18 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:01.439 the seafront. But by the following a Monday, the first 19 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:06.439 of November, the atmosphere had shifted. The celebrations were over 20 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.800 and the town returned to its quieter off season rhythm. 21 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.599 Decorations still clung to shop windows, but the crowds had thinned. 22 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:18.439 It was a work night and the streets were noticeably calmer. 23 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:23.159 That night, a teenage girl made her way into Blackpool's 24 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:27.080 town Center. She walked past the familiar outline of the 25 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:31.520 tar and through streets she knew well, passing shop fronts 26 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:36.319 still dotted with Halloween displays. Security cameras picked her up 27 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:39.919 at points along the way, recording her movements in short 28 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.800 fragments of grainny footage, but the cameras didn't capture everything. 29 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:49.199 They showed her journey into the town Center, but not 30 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:53.719 the journey home. Somewhere beyond the Golden Mile, in the 31 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:57.319 maze of streets that fan out from the seafront, she 32 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:02.639 disappeared a work light when she went up with the 33 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:04.840 friend and I'm not se quiz. Can I give you 34 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:07.599 a discripch in place? She's got a shoulder out, dark 35 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:10.919 brown hair with a fringe. She's got a fringe and 36 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:14.800 what was she wearing? The black young per aunt were 37 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:20.840 like white diamonds on the young hair what she called Charlie. 38 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:41.879 Charlie Dan Charlene Downes was born in Coventry on the 39 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:45.560 twenty fifth of March nineteen eighty nine. Her early childhood 40 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:48.680 was spent in the Midlands, where her mother Karen, stayed 41 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:51.719 at home to care for Charlene and her siblings, brother 42 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.479 and two sisters. Her father, Robert, was a former soldier 43 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:58.919 who had served in the army before settling into civilian life. 44 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:03.280 He picked up various jobs, at one point working as 45 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:07.000 a door man to support the family. When Charlene was 46 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:09.719 ten years old, the family decided to move to Blackpool, 47 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:14.439 settling into a terraced house on Buchanan Street. It was 48 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:17.759 only a short walk from the north here, close enough 49 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:20.240 to hear the sounds of the town center, but just 50 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:23.839 far enough removed to maintain the quieter pace of residential life. 51 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:27.720 By two thousand and three, the household on Buchanan Street 52 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:32.199 included Charlene's parents, her sister Becky, and her grandmother Jesse. 53 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:36.399 At fourteen, Charlene was a student at Saint George's High 54 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:40.800 School in Marton navigating the difficult years between childhood and adulthood. 55 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.040 Like many teenagers in Blackpool, Charlene was drawn to the 56 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:49.439 town center, the Golden Mile, the shops, the arcades. It 57 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:51.600 was a place that felt bigger and more exciting than 58 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:54.639 the quiet streets where she lived, a place where she 59 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:59.480 could feel independent. Friends described Charlene as outgoing and sociable, 60 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:03.079 somebody who made friends easily and was always comfortable talking 61 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:07.199 to new people. She was funny, loyal, and protective of 62 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:10.720 those that she cared about. Her mother described her as 63 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.680 a bubbly girl who liked to laugh, west life and fashion. 64 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.480 But Charlene's home life wasn't without its challenges. The family 65 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:22.360 had been known to social services in Coventry and Walsall 66 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:28.000 due to child protection concerns. In Blackpool, agencies logged reports 67 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:31.800 of violence in the home, lack of supervision, and incidents 68 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:37.319 that raised concerns about potential sexual exploitation. Charlene herself was 69 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:40.920 in a difficult stage. She'd been expelled from school and 70 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:43.720 was trying to find her footing, no longer a child 71 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:46.839 but not quite an adult. In the months leading up 72 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.160 to November of two thousand and three, her family noticed 73 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:53.319 she seemed to be growing up quickly. She was more 74 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.839 focused on her clothes and appearance, and she often spoke 75 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:01.040 about older friends. It was a familiar your teenage mix 76 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:03.800 of one thing to be seen as a mature whilst 77 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:08.160 still being very much a child at home. Her sister 78 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:11.600 Becky would later reflect on how close they were. I 79 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:13.720 was involved in a car crash when I was nine 80 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:16.920 and ended up on a live support machine. When I 81 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:18.720 came out of the comb I couldn't even tie my 82 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:22.839 own shoelaces, but Charlene did everything for me. She was 83 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:26.199 so caring she helped me recover. On the first of 84 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:30.120 November two thousand and three, the day after Halloween, Charlene 85 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.399 dressed in a black jumper with white diamonds and black 86 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:37.480 trousers with sequins and three stripes at the bottom. She 87 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:41.000 and Becky headed into town for some shopping before stopping 88 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:44.879 at McDonald's for dinner. At around six forty five pm, 89 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:48.839 the sisters bummed into their mother, Karen, on Church Street. 90 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:53.199 Karen was handing out fliers for an Indian restaurant where 91 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:57.319 she worked. They chatted briefly before Becky said that she 92 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:01.959 was heading home. Charlene's she was going to meet friends 93 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:06.439 Natalie and Natasha. She used a nearby phone box to 94 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:09.600 call them and then waited with her mother until they arrived. 95 00:07:11.160 --> 00:07:14.439 Karen watched on as Charlene and her friends walked towards 96 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:18.600 the Winter gardens. It was the last time she saw 97 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:22.480 her daughter. When Karen returned home from work that night, 98 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:26.519 Charlene wasn't there. She had a curfew of ten pm, 99 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.319 but the hours passed with no sign of her. Karen 100 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:33.639 began calling her on Charlene's friends, but nobody had seen her. 101 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:38.240 As the night wore on, the absence became more alarming. 102 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:42.759 What had started as a normal evening in town was 103 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:44.879 now the beginning of a search that would consume not 104 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:56.160 only her family, but the entire town. After Charlene Downs 105 00:07:56.279 --> 00:08:00.360 was reported missing, the search for her began. More than 106 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:04.079 thirty officers were assigned to the case, and police appealed 107 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:07.839 to the public for their help. In those early days, 108 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.360 they said it was possible that Charlene was sleeping rough 109 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:15.319 or staying with friends jut connections crossed different parts of town, 110 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:17.959 but it was still unusual for her to remain out 111 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.720 of touch for so long. Charlene's mother recalled one instance 112 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:27.319 where she went missing before, around two years earlier. She 113 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:31.480 said she had spent four days in Wolverhampton before returning home. 114 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:35.879 According to Karen, however, she didn't believe her daughter was 115 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:39.759 staying with friends. Nobody had seen her since the day 116 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:45.360 after Halloween and nobody had heard from her. Inspector Addie 117 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:50.200 Thistlewaite addressed the press, dating we're growing concern for Charlene's 118 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:52.720 health and well being as it's out of character for 119 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:55.519 her to go missing for this length of time. We 120 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:58.240 would like to stress that she isn't in trouble and 121 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.080 just want to know that she's safe. We would appeal 122 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:04.879 to anybody for any information about her whereabouts or for 123 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:10.039 Charlene herself to contact police. As the investigation unfolded, friends 124 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:13.080 provided insight into her movements. On the night she was 125 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.679 last seen, Charline had spent part of her evening at 126 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:21.039 the Winter Gardens with her friends Natalie and Natasha. At 127 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:24.279 around nine p m. They said their goodbyes. Natalie and 128 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:27.639 Natasha were babysitting for her friend and Charlene told them 129 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:32.000 that she was going home, but she wasn't. Instead, she 130 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:34.799 met up with another friend and together they went to 131 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:38.759 the carousel bar on the North Pier. They stayed there 132 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:41.679 until around ten p m before leaving and walking towards 133 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:46.159 Talbot Road. According to this friend, they parted ways at 134 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:49.960 around eleven p m. With this information, police began scoring 135 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:54.360 CCTV footage from around the town center. They soon located 136 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:57.240 a girl they believed to be Charlene, seen around nine 137 00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:59.840 p m on the junction of Dixon Road and Talbot Road. 138 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:04.639 The footage shooter hanging around the alleyway that runs between 139 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:08.759 the shops, an area laned mostly with fast food takeaways, 140 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:13.440 but after that the trail went cold. As weeks turned 141 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:18.200 two months, police continued to appeal for information. Charlene's family 142 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:22.759 also spoke publicly. Her mother Karen, made a heartfelt play, 143 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:26.720 I can't understand why Charlene hasn't been in touch. The 144 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:29.759 pain is unbearable. It's breaking my heart not knowing where 145 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:33.559 she is. If Charlene reads or hears my appeal, I 146 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:35.799 want her to know how much I miss and love her. 147 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:40.559 Her father, Robert, echoed the same fears. The stress of 148 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:43.360 not knowing where her beloved daughter is or whether she's 149 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:48.360 in any danger is becoming unbearable. Detectives chased every possible lead. 150 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:54.480 They visited Charlene's friends in Oldham, Denton and Wolverhampton. They 151 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:58.080 conducted door to door inquiries across Blackpool and beyond, and 152 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:02.120 were even assisted by the National Missing Person's Helpline, but 153 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:04.480 nobody had seen or heard from Charlene since the night 154 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:08.679 she vanished. In an effort to generate new Leeds police 155 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:11.519 reliefed a picture of jeanes that were identical with the 156 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:15.879 pair Charlene was wearing when she vanished. By January, a 157 00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:18.960 new missing person poster was distributed to every police station 158 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:23.080 in the country. A small number of sidings were reported 159 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:27.440 from different areas, but each one was investigated and ultimately 160 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:33.279 ruled out. Charlene's trail, it seemed, had vanished into thin air. 161 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:41.480 In May of two thousand and four, six months after 162 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:46.600 Charlene went missing, detectives took an unusual step. They started 163 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:51.840 DNA's testing male volunteers in the area. Detective Inspector Tony 164 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:56.080 Harling explained, it may seem unusual to begin forensic testing 165 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:58.519 in cases such as this where we have turned up 166 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:02.519 no evidence from the missing person. It's not standard practice, 167 00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:05.519 but we decided to act on information gained from interviews 168 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:10.600 with the number of Charlene's known associates. Those interviews with 169 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:15.879 Charlene's friends revealed something deeply troubling. They told police that 170 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:19.559 Charlene had been having sex with foreign men who owned 171 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:24.120 or worked at local takeaways. But Charlene was only fourteen 172 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:28.279 years old. The reality was that she was being groomed 173 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:32.279 and exploited, and she wasn't the only one. According to 174 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:35.639 one detective, she was one of a number of adolescent 175 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:38.720 white girls who sometimes went at night to the alleyways 176 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:44.759 behind the restaurants. Here, these girls exchanged sex for goods. 177 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:49.519 Charlene and her friends even had a ra assistant derogatory 178 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:53.720 named for it, Packy Alley. It was where they went 179 00:12:53.799 --> 00:12:57.600 when they were hungry, needed cigarettes, alcohol, or just some 180 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:01.720 credit for their mobile phones. One of Charlene's friends later 181 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:05.320 described how it started. They were older than you, and 182 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:08.120 you thought they were your friends. It all seemed so 183 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:13.080 glamorous and exciting. Young girls were drawn to the flash cars, 184 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:17.399 the money, the alcohol, free food, sometimes drugs, but the 185 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:23.480 glamor quickly faded. The investigation uncovered a pattern of systematic exploitation. 186 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:28.679 Vulnerable girls, some as young as eleven, were being targeted 187 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:33.120 by men working in Blackpool's fast food outlets. They were 188 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:37.320 offered food, alcohol, or small amounts of money in exchange 189 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:42.960 for sexual acts. Police later described these takeaways as honeypot locations, 190 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:48.679 places where predators could easily identify and exploit vulnerable teenagers. 191 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:52.679 One of Charlene's friends remembered a man who would offer 192 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:57.399 her drugs, saying they would loosen her up. She said 193 00:13:57.480 --> 00:14:02.759 he made her flesh crawl. Another man constantly propositioned young girls, 194 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:07.919 all while insulting them, calling white girls flags and comparing 195 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.320 them unfavorably to Muslim women, who he said walked five 196 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:17.279 steps behind their husbands. The scale of abuse was staggering. 197 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:21.039 Police believed at least sixty girls had been caught up 198 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:26.360 in the network. A later report concluded young people were 199 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:29.759 being abused and assaulted both inside and outside of premises 200 00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:33.519 by a number of takeaway owners and workers. The wider 201 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:37.919 environment made Blackpool particularly vulnerable to this kind of exploitation. 202 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:42.080 The town had high levels of poverty and cheap short 203 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:45.360 term housing that meant people were constantly moving in and 204 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:49.600 moving out. By the early two thousands, Blackpool ranked as 205 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:54.600 the twelfth poorest area in the country. Around sixteen percent 206 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:58.200 of children on the town's Child Protection Register were considered 207 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:02.840 at risk of abuse, nearly doubled the national average. Add 208 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:04.879 that to the fact that Blackpool had always drawn in 209 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:08.960 runaway children attracted by the bright lights of the Seaside Horn, 210 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:14.080 and it created the perfect condition for predators. Charlene's disappearance 211 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:16.000 had exposed what was believed to be one of the 212 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:20.399 first grooming networks identified in Britain on this scale. It 213 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:24.279 had been hiding in plain sight. See mcgurty, who coordinated 214 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:29.559 Mothers if sexually abused children, wasn't surprised. She commented, there 215 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:32.000 have always been shocking levels of abuse of children in 216 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:35.840 this town, but before Charlene Downes went missing, it was 217 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:40.279 completely swept onto the carpet. In response, police formed a 218 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:45.559 dedicated task force, Project Awaken, set up specifically to tackle 219 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:51.080 child sexual exploitation in Blackpool, and detectives began to wonder 220 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:55.759 if Charlene herself had been forced into sex work. Over 221 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:59.240 the course of the investigation, more than three thousand men 222 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:03.559 were DNA tested, but nothing ever came of these tests, 223 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:09.039 and Charlene remained missing. The first anniversary of her disappearance 224 00:16:09.159 --> 00:16:13.399 came and went, then the second, her family were left 225 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:16.639 trying to piece together their lives without knowing what had 226 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:20.279 happened to their daughter. Every so often someone was sure 227 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:23.440 they'd seen her in Manchester, in a Burger king in London, 228 00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:27.039 but each sighting was investigated and each was ruled out. 229 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:32.919 Theories circulated. Some people believed that Charlene had simply run away, 230 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:36.720 others thought she must have been sold into sex trafficking, 231 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:41.320 and many were convinced that she was dead. At the 232 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:45.639 two year anniversary, Detective Superintendent Paul Basheney made it clear 233 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:49.639 that the case was still a priority. He stated, it 234 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.399 doesn't matter how many cases were working on. She has 235 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:55.159 an incident room all of her own and there are 236 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:58.039 officers working on her case who have been with it 237 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:06.119 from day one. In the early hours of the seventh 238 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:10.680 of March two thousand and six, police moved in. Officers 239 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:15.039 surrounded two flats, one in Blackpool, the other in nearby Fleetwood. 240 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:19.839 They waited in the darkness until the order came. Doors 241 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:24.599 were smashed open and two men were arrested. Twenty eight 242 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:27.519 year old he At Albaateak and forty nine year old 243 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:32.359 Mohammed Ravishi Albataki, who was originally from Jordan, owned a 244 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:37.400 fast food shop in Blackpool called Funny Boys. Ravichi, who 245 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:41.720 was born in Iran, was a former army sergeant. He 246 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:47.359 was also Abataki's business partner and also his landlord. Charlene 247 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:51.000 had been a familiar face at Funny Boys when other 248 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:55.000 teenagers were in school. She was often seen hanging around 249 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:58.519 the town. According to friends, she spent a lot of 250 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.319 time in the fast food take away and she was 251 00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:06.599 always given free food as detective's dog. Deeper disturbing stories 252 00:18:06.759 --> 00:18:11.599 began to surface. A woman named Kirsty Fletcher worked at 253 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:15.720 another fast food restaurant in Blackpool. One day, she went 254 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:20.000 to see her employer about wages. While there, she overheard 255 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:25.440 a group of men talking. Among them was Albataki. The 256 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:30.119 men were discussing having sex with young white girls. Albaateeki 257 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:33.480 mentioned Charlene by name. He laughed and said that she 258 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:37.640 was kinky and very small, and he added a chilling 259 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:43.400 comment that Charlene had gone into the kebabs. But Kursey 260 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:47.200 wasn't the only one to hear things. David Cassidy, a 261 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:50.400 local arcade owner, was a friend of Albataki and his 262 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:55.880 brother Terake. After a falling out between the Brothersterake had 263 00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:03.359 confided in David with everything will happened to Charlene Downes. 264 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:07.920 He said to him that he knew something that would 265 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:10.200 get my brother sent away. He was in tears as 266 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:13.359 he spoke. According to David, Drake said that his brother 267 00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:18.319 had strangled Charlene. There was a lot of blood, he 268 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:22.599 told him. He said that Charlene had been killed, chopped 269 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:27.000 up and disposed of. When Albategi found out his brother 270 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:30.880 had spoken, he threatened David, warning that he'd be dealt 271 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:34.400 with if he told anybody. He even offered him an 272 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:38.920 interest free loan arranged through Revie She to keep him quiet, 273 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:45.079 but eventually David went to police. He later explained, I 274 00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:47.799 had heard rumors of young girls getting into Van's and 275 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:50.960 not being seen until the next day. I'd heard people 276 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:54.279 say that Ravechi was seen in bed with three young girls. 277 00:19:54.920 --> 00:19:58.119 One of them was Charlene Downes. I was told she'd 278 00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:59.960 had enough and was going to go to the police, 279 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:04.440 and that's what triggered something in their heads. They weren't 280 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:08.319 going to let that happen. Detectives soon spoke with Alba 281 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:12.200 Taki and Riveshi. Both men insisted they had never seen 282 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:15.200 Charlene in person, and the only time they had any 283 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:19.759 knowledge of her was through the missing person posters. They 284 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:25.319 denied any involvement in her disappearance. Be an indictable with 285 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:27.640 the woice. All of us are nice, all of us 286 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:30.359 who haven't done Would you consider yourself to be a 287 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:34.160 good friend or us easible? Dead? Did? Good? Friendly? Yeah? 288 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:36.680 He's a good friend. Yeah. I wouldn't say it's about 289 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:40.079 this thinks a person? No, no, no, no, I mean 290 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:44.720 there is nothing to hide all of us. Police weren't convinced. 291 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:49.799 They installed covert listening devices in both Albataki and Raveachi's 292 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:54.519 flats and even in Ravechi's car. What they captured was 293 00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:59.920 deeply troubling. The recordings were often fragmented and difficult to interpret. 294 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:05.480 The detective said that certain phrases and exchanges suggested involvement 295 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:10.799 in Charlene's disappearance. On one tape, Ravichi was heard expressing 296 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:16.279 disbelief that police were investigating the case. In his words, 297 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:19.839 Charlene was not even from a decent or important family. 298 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:26.480 On another, he apparently said eat the body. Albaategy could 299 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:30.160 be heard saying he had killed while talking about Charlene. 300 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:35.319 In another recording, Ravichi described a gruesome act. Her big 301 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:40.079 bone went into the machine as well. Albateki responded her 302 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:47.839 bones inside the machine. Ravigi confirmed yes. The conversation suggested 303 00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:52.279 a disturbing sequence of events that Albaateki had killed Charlene 304 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:57.119 and Ravichi had assisted in disposing of the body. There 305 00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:00.599 were repeated references to a kebab machine, and at one 306 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:05.039 point Ravichi spoke about checking the burial place. Later his 307 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:10.319 tone broke and he sobbed, I can't cope. The recordings 308 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:14.599 alone were not straightforward evidence. They were difficult to interpret 309 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:18.920 and often opened a challenge, but in combination with witness 310 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:23.720 statements and the broader investigation, they painted a disturbing picture. 311 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:34.119 The day after the arrest, Albatake was charged with murder 312 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:38.880 and Ravachi with assisting an offender. The trial began in 313 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:43.519 May of two thousand and seven at Preston Crowancourt. Prosecutor 314 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.799 Tim Holroyd opened by telling the jury that Charlene had 315 00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:50.880 been groomed by one or both of the defendants. He 316 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:53.400 described the network of young white girls who were drawn 317 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:57.640 into Blackpool's fast food shops where they were sexually exploited 318 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:03.359 by older men. The prosecutor outlined the witness testimony, the 319 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:08.079 recorded conversations and other pieces of evidence. He argued that 320 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:11.400 Albateiki was the person who killed Charlene and that Ravechi 321 00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:15.119 had helped in disposing of her body. The defense claimed 322 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:18.279 that both men were innocent. They argued that the witnesses 323 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:22.079 were unreliable, that the recordings were too difficult to decipher, 324 00:23:22.599 --> 00:23:27.680 and that the police had overstepped their expertise. Defense attorney 325 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:31.599 John Bromley Davenport even suggested that Detective Sergeant gene b 326 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:36.480 Sant was unqualified to interpret the tapes given how closely 327 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:38.559 she had been involved with the case from the start. 328 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:44.279 Testimony from Detective Sergeant Stephen Moorcraft detailed the nation wide 329 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:47.519 search for Charlene. He said there had been more than 330 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:52.960 seventy reported sightings across the UK and abroad. Every report 331 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:58.279 had been investigated, but none yielded any results. Miricroft noted 332 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:00.599 that there was no record of Charlene Howd having worked, 333 00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:05.160 claimed benefits, used NHS services, or paid rent or utility 334 00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:09.960 bills in the years following her disappearance. The prosecution then 335 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:13.720 presented fifty two digital audio tapes collected during the surveillance 336 00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:18.119 police had monitored the suspects twenty four hours a day 337 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:23.079 from a dedicated room at Blackpool's police station, carefully cataloging 338 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:29.400 every conversation whennesses also included David Cassidy, a local arcade owner, 339 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:33.079 who recounted what Tariq had told him about his brother. 340 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:38.799 Tarik had confided that Abatiki strangled Charlene and then dismembered 341 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:43.599 her body. Cassidy testified he told me she was strangled. 342 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:48.720 As Cassidy gave his testimony, Charlene's mother, Karen, was overwhelmed 343 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:54.839 and fled from the public gallery in tears. 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He suggested that the conversation never occurred, 373 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:39.680 pointing to Cassidy's past criminal record for dishonesty dating back 374 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:43.880 to when he was seventeen. Goldran asked why Cassidy had 375 00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:48.039 waited months to go to the police. He responded, I 376 00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:51.640 had to determine whether it was here sayer gossip. The 377 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:55.079 jury were then sent off to deliberate. By the end 378 00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:58.640 of the first day, they hadn't reached a verdict. This 379 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:02.279 continued for eleven more day days. Unable to come to 380 00:27:02.359 --> 00:27:06.839 an agreement, the jury was discharged and a retrial was ordered. 381 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:11.559 In April the next year, an unexpected development shocked everybody 382 00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:15.640 involved in the case. The charges against Yad Albatik and 383 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:22.319 Mohammed Ravishi were dropped. Lakeshier Police faced severe criticism, accused 384 00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:25.599 of having lied and of pursuing the case with an agenda. 385 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:30.839 After the collapse, serious errors with the surveillance evidence had 386 00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:36.319 been identified, raising questions with the Crime Prosecution Service. On 387 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:39.039 top of his, concerns were raised about David Cassidy, the 388 00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:44.200 lead witness. His reliability was called into question and without 389 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:49.119 sufficient credible evidence, prosecutors were forced to offer no case. 390 00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:55.720 Both men were then released from costady. Charlene's family were 391 00:27:55.759 --> 00:28:00.480 said to be devastated. Her mother Karen said part of 392 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:04.960 me went with her. She didn't deserve to die. Ravigi 393 00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:08.759 meanwhile described the case against him as shameful and announced 394 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:12.799 plans to sue the police. Both he and Albatigo were 395 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:16.359 later awarded two hundred and fifty thousand pounds in compensation 396 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:20.640 for the time they had spent behind bars. In the aftermath, 397 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:23.480 it was announced at Lancashire Police would be investigated by 398 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:28.119 the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The inquiry would focus on 399 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:32.680 an alleged abuse of process by officers and the disappearance 400 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:37.279 of a key tape from the surveillance. While the investigation continued, 401 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:40.960