I Was Abused By Teacher Aged 12 Before 9 Men From Grooming Gang Raped Me Weeks Later In 18hr Ordeal… I Was Easy Pickings

ALMOST 20 years on, Samantha Walker-Roberts is still haunted by the memories of what happened to her during her childhood.

Aged 12, she spent over a year hiding indoors after being groomed online by ex-teacher Paul Waites, 34, who went on to rape her in a supermarket car park – but that was just the start of her ordeal.

Samantha Walker-Roberts was raped by a former teacher aged 12 – and just weeks later she fell into the hands of a paedophile ring of nine men GMPPaul Waites groomed Samantha online before luring her into a car park and raping her[/caption]

Three weeks later she fell into the hands of a paedophile ring of nine men, who took it in turns to rape her 12 times, in 18 hours.

Samantha was passed around cars and houses in Oldham, Lancs, and was so terrified the predators would strike again if she ran into them, she became a prisoner in her own home.

She lived in constant fear of being attacked and when she did finally find the courage to go outdoors, she changed her hair colour weekly so she wouldn’t be recognised.

Only two of her attackers were ever brought to justice.

Now, she says girls like her must be better protected – and is working with the government’s inquiry into the decades-long grooming gangs scandal, announced in June.

Samantha says: “It haunts me to think these men are out there walking the streets. Change is crucial.

“Children are still being groomed. We must stop it, and the scars last a lifetime – I am living proof of that.

“At the time, I saw it as a terrible coincidence that I was attacked by so many men, just weeks apart.

“Now, I know that I was targeted because I was vulnerable – I was identified as easy pickings. It is not too late for justice.

“I didn’t know the difference between abuse and love.

“I was so brainwashed by Waites, I even called him for support after the first sexual assault by the gang.”

Samantha, now 31, carried her trauma alone throughout her teenage years and was so terrified of coming face to face with any one of her attackers again – most of whom were never traced – she contemplated suicide.

She was 12 when she was groomed online by Waites through a networking site called Teen Chat.

Samantha recalls being drawn in by his “caring and understanding” nature, and soon found herself confiding in him.

She says: “When Waites contacted me, he said he was 18. I told him I was 13, because I wanted to sound grown-up. It never occurred to me he was lying about his own age.

“I was unhappy at school and at home. I was waiting for tests for ADHD and autism, and I felt I didn’t fit in anywhere. Paul seemed like a true friend. We swapped numbers, and I’d speak to him every day.

“Over the next few weeks, we got to know each other, though Paul was always more interested in talking about me than himself.

“He talked me into sending him photos, and I was so scared of losing him as a friend that I agreed.”

Waites sent Samantha a photo of himself, naked from the waist up and although he looked older than he claimed he was, in her innocence, she didn’t question his age.

He managed to convince Samantha to meet him, promising her happiness as his girlfriend.

In August 2006, they met in secret at a supermarket car park in Oldham.

Samantha had been receiving social services support because of problems at home and at school.

She says she confided in a social worker about her meeting, but claims she wasn’t believed.

“I was virtually a prisoner in my own home and I became suicidal. I made several attempts on my life.”

Samantha

Samantha says: “Her reply made me think I was better off keeping things to myself.

“I had doubts about meeting Waites, but I went ahead because I was scared of annoying him.

“He told me to keep it all secret. Looking back, he arranged everything so that nobody would be suspicious.

“But I just thought he was being helpful. We sat in his fancy sports car in the car park and talked.”

GMPShakil Chowdhury, then 39, was jailed in 2007 for six years after admitting six counts of rape, serving only three years in prison[/caption] Devastated that her other attackers were spared, Samantha spent her teenage years severely traumatised

It was during a second meeting that Waites sexually assaulted Samantha, and on the third, he raped her.

She says: “I was forced to go through with it.

“Afterwards, I ran away, retching against a pillar at the bus station. I was so confused. I didn’t understand why he’d treat me like that if he loved me.”

After the horror attack, traumatised Samantha visited a sexual health clinic.

She says that, had the authorities stepped in during her clinic visits, they could’ve prevented what happened to her next.

Three weeks on, Samantha, still aged 12, was offered a lift by two strangers.

She says: “I was in a churchyard with my friends, and we were sharing a bottle of cider. I wasn’t used to alcohol, so I quickly got drunk.

“I was sexually assaulted by a man who asked me for a cigarette.

“I went to the police station, but they told me to go home and come back with an adult when I was sober. I felt desperate, as though nobody cared about me.

“When two men outside the police station offered me a lift, I accepted, because it seemed life couldn’t get any worse.”

Of all my attackers, Waites terrified me the most because he was so calculated and cold. I have no doubt he is a serious risk to all children.

Samantha

Samantha had fallen into the hands of sexual predators, and over the next 18 hours, she was passed from one group to another.

“In the final house, where I was raped repeatedly, I was taken into a child’s bedroom, with a bumblebee pattern on the light shade and a kid’s duvet,” she recalls.

“It breaks my heart to think there were children living in that environment.”

Yet only one of the gang ever faced justice.

Samantha as a toddler during happier times Samantha, now a mum-of-three, pictured with her sonSupplied

Shakil Chowdhury, then 39, was jailed in 2007 for six years after admitting six counts of rape, serving only three years in prison.

Devastated that her other attackers were spared, Samantha spent her teenage years severely traumatised.

She says: “I couldn’t leave the house, I had to stop going to school.

“I had a home tutor, but my concentration was really poor. I began dyeing my hair and wearing a lot of makeup to change my appearance in case I ever bumped into them.

“Social workers tried to encourage me to return to school, but I couldn’t. I got a home tutor, and then 18 months later, I was given a place at a specialist unit.

“I had a therapist who persuaded me to go out with her, in her car. But when we reached the town centre, where the first assaults had happened, I’d have a panic attack.

“I was virtually a prisoner in my own home, and I became suicidal. I made several attempts on my life.”

YOU HAVE NOT DEFEATED ME

In 2012, when Samantha was 18, she met her first serious boyfriend Steven Walker online, and confided in him.

She began to rebuild her life, and together they campaigned for justice for survivors of grooming gangs.

Together, they launched: ‘You have not defeated me’, a campaign which demanded more support and understanding for grooming victims.

That same year, Samantha began work on an inquiry into localised grooming, later returning with Steven to the street where she was raped. She gathered evidence to prove that other children had been exploited at the same location.

Three years later, Samantha headed a panel of 11 victims at the Oldham Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) inquiry, and her complaints against the police and the council were upheld. She received apologies.

And with Steven’s support, she reported Waites to the police.

Samantha recalls: “I was terrified of going to the police. By now I’d lost all faith in the authorities. But it was a relief to say it out loud and to finally realise that it wasn’t my fault.”

In 2012, Samantha met her first serious boyfriend, Steven Walker (pictured on their wedding day)Supplied SuppliedSamantha’s book, ‘Undefeated’ released on August 14, is now on sale[/caption]

In April 2015, Waites, then 42, was jailed for a total of 11 years at Manchester Crown Court after admitting rape, inciting sexual activity with an underage child, sexual assault and grooming.

Samantha says: “I was horrified to find out that he was 34 years old when he targeted me, and a former teacher.

“Of all my attackers, Waites terrified me the most because he was so calculated and cold. I have no doubt he is a serious risk to all children.”

Samantha tried to move on with her life, and she and Steven went on to have three children.

However, in a fateful turn of events, Steven too became physically and mentally abusive.

My family fell apart, my whole life was smashed apart…The damage goes on and on, for me and for my family, and I will never give up the fight.

Samantha

She says: “At that point, I wanted to put it all behind me and concentrate on family life, but Steven became the driving force behind the campaign.

“I couldn’t cope with it all. He had been obsessed with our campaign, pushing me into it.

“I couldn’t believe I’d fallen into a pattern of abuse again, though this was on a different level.

“I had to account for every penny I spent and couldn’t go anywhere on my own. I realised he was tracking my movements, and I became very worried.

“He was unwell, and I had hoped he might get better but I decided I couldn’t take any more.”

Soon after the couple separated in early 2020, Steven, 30, took his own life, leaving Samantha devastated.

She says: “Ironically, we had started the campaign to give me back my voice and I felt he had taken it from me again.

“My life hit the lowest point in the years after his death.”

‘LIFE SMASHED APART’

However, in 2024, spurred on by a need to help others, Samantha, who is in a new relationship and lives in Oldham, began pushing for a broad review into child sex exploitation, which she hopes will make all children safer.

She is working with MP’s Jess Phillips and Kemi Badenoch and hopes the new UK inquiry into grooming gangs, scheduled to start this summer, will lead to justice for survivors and the introduction of new safety measures for all children.

“So many mistakes which were made, by the very people who were supposed to be looking after me,” says Samantha.

“My family fell apart, my whole life was smashed apart, not just by the attacks, but by the way I was treated in the aftermath. The damage goes on and on, for me and for my family, and I will never give up the fight.

“I can’t change my past but I can make a difference for the future of so many others.”

• Samantha’s book, ‘Undefeated’ released on August 14, is now on sale