ROTHERHAM,
England — It started on the bumper cars in the children’s arcade of
the local shopping mall. Lucy was 12, and a group of teenage boys,
handsome and flirtatious, treated her and her friends to free rides and
ice cream after school.
Over
time, older men were introduced to the girls, while the boys faded
away. Soon they were getting rides in real cars, and were offered vodka
and marijuana. One man in particular, a Pakistani twice her age and the
leader of the group, flattered her and bought her drinks and even a
mobile phone. Lucy liked him.