The publication of new reports on the networks of covert child sexual exploitation by the UK Governments has once again put one of the most chilling and dark cases of recent British history under scrutiny: the disappearance of Charlene Downes, a 14-year-old girl who was last seen in Blackpool on November 1, 2003.
Charlene disappeared in a central area of the seaside town, an area filled with fast food outlets, nightlife, structural poverty, and a growing presence of Pakistani sexual abuse networks. For years, her family reported that the teenager had been a victim of these networks, but authorities were slow to treat the case with the seriousness it deserved: they did not want to stigmatize the Muslim population.
The case took a sinister turn when the investigation pointed to two men linked to a kebab shop, a typical Middle Eastern food. In the trial, the prosecution argued that Charlene was highly likely to have been murdered and that her body may have been hidden or destroyed. Extremely brutal versions were even considered, including the hypothesis that her remains may have been ground up and used in food sold at a kebab stand.
