Man sentenced for child sexual exploitation offences

A man has been jailed for nine years in connection with child sexual exploitation offences (CSE).

Ridvan Uruqi, aged 27, of Trinity Lane, Waltham Cross, was sentenced today (Monday 4 November) at St Albans Crown Court having been found guilty of four counts of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation and one count of sexual activity with a child.

An investigation was launched in 2021 by Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Halo team, who specialise in CSE cases, following a report from a female who had been sexually assaulted.

It was alleged that, on three occasions between 28 December, 2020 and 3 January, 2021, Uruqi arranged and facilitated the travel of two teenage victims to locations in London where they were sexually exploited.

Today, Uruqi was jailed for nine years in connection to the four counts of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation and five years for sexual activity with a child to be served concurrently. He will also have to abide by a Slavery Trafficking Prevention Order for 15 years.

Detective Sergeant Ayodeji Afolabi said: “I’d like to thank and commend the victims for their bravery and courage throughout this investigation.

“The constabulary’s Halo team has dedicated officers who proactively target and disrupt those who are sexually exploiting young people and works closely with intelligence teams to safeguard those who are most at risk.

“Halo also gives training and guidance to those working in sectors such as education, sports, leisure, hospitality and the night-time economy to make sure they can spot the signs of child sexual abuse and exploitation and report it.”

Hertfordshire Constabulary want to make sure as many people as possible are aware of the possible signs of CSE and who to contact if they have concerns for a young person.

Warning signs

Signs of a child or young person being in an exploitative relationship can vary. Some examples are:

• going missing from home or care
• physical injuries
• misuse of drugs or alcohol
• involvement in offending
• repeat sexually-transmitted infections, pregnancies or terminations
• absenteeism from school
• deterioration in physical appearance
• evidence of online sexual bullying
• evidence of vulnerability on social networking sites
• emotional distance from family members
• receiving gifts from unknown sources
• recruiting others into exploitative situations
• poor mental health
• self-harming
• thinking about or attempting suicide

If you suspect a person of carrying out child sexual exploitation, or think someone you know has been a victim, or may be soon, visit our How to report possible child abuse page or call our non-emergency number, 101.

If someone is in immediate danger of harm, please call 999.

Further information about CSE can be found on the Herts Police website and on the NWG Network.