Child sex abuse trial: "Asian men caught climbing through children's home window"

Susan Needham worked at St Edmund’s children’s home in Thurcroft and said the incident happened after she let in a white woman with blonde hair, who claimed to be the young girl’s aunt.

Ms Needham worked at the home between 1988 and 2001, starting as a domestic assistant and progressed to support worker.

Her evidence was read to the jury in the ongoing trial of five men and two women on child sexual exploitation charges today.

Ms Needham was interviewed by the police last year and asked if she recalled anything about one of the complainants in the trial who lived for a while at St Edmund’s.

The complainant has previously told the jury that she was forced to have sex with Asian men by defendant Karen MacGregor, including a man called Blind Ash who the alleged victim said was MacGregor’s partner.

The prosecution say Blind Ash is co-defendant Qurban Ali.

The court heard Ms Needham told the police a white, slim, blonde woman in her 30s had come to St Edmund’s and told her she was the girl’s aunt.

Ms Needham said she had not seen her before but the girl confirmed she was her aunt so she let her in.

“As I had never seen her before, I felt uneasy, something did not seem right,” she said in her interview.

Ms Needham said she specifically asked the girl and woman not to close the bedroom door but, because they did, she went to the bedroom and opened the door.

“I saw two Asian males trying to get through the window,” she said.

“I can’t recall anything about them but my immediate response was to tell them to leave.”

Following the police interview, a record from St Edmund’s files believed to be of the same incident was shown to Ms Needham and she confirmed it was her entry, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

The document was reportedly dated January 4 1995, which meant the girl was 16 years old.

Ms Needham’s log said the girl had “been lovely company” and gone to bed at 10.55pm and “then the women came to visit her”, the court heard.

The log said a younger girl had come to the home’s door before the older woman who called herself Kaz.

Ms Needham said in her interview: “The record shows I found a Pakistani male leaning through the window.”

Ms Needham said when she recalled the incident she thought it was two males leaning through, but trusted the log to be accurate.

The log also read the woman had given her address as Sheffield and said the Asian man was her partner.

The court heard that after the incident the girl told Ms Needham she had babysat for “Kaz” a few times and stayed at her house, but she did not want her to visit her again at the home.

MacGregor and Ali deny the charges against them.

Child sex abuse trial: the defendants and charges