I was raped 22 times by a grooming gang who used plastic bags instead of condoms, drugged and beat me from age 14
Share:
FILLING in yet another job application Christina O’Connor’s heart is heavy, because she knows that regardless of qualifications or experience, she’s unlikely to ever find work. Christina, 32, is a survivor of the biggest grooming scandal in the UK and even now, almost 20 years on from the harrowing abuse which ‘stole’ her childhood, she’s still unable to move on with her life.
![[Christina O'Conner was a victim of a grooming gang at age 14]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/bbd08db7-20db-4801-8b20-beb2d9df091e.jpg?strip=all&w=764)
She was the main prosecution witness in the Huddersfield Grooming Gang trials, in which 11 men were convicted of a staggering 43 offences against her, including 22 counts of rape. The gang was eventually jailed for a total of 221 years. A happy child from a loving family, Christina was 14 when she fell into the clutches of an evil child sex ring.
![[Christina fell into the grooming gang after being bullied at school]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/i-raped-22-times-grooming-962566121.jpg?strip=all&w=256)
She was beaten, raped repeatedly, mentally abused daily, and when her family were targeted she had sex with the gang members to keep her loved ones safe - some using plastic bags for contraception. Christina was forced into a life of crime and the shadows of the abuse still hang over her to this day, even impacting her chances of employment.
![[Eleven members of the Huddersfield grooming gang were convicted of crimes against Christina]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image_9f34a5.png?strip=all&w=960)
And now, in light of the government’s decision not to hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs, Christina slams the lack of action and claims it is putting other young girls at risk. She says: “A national inquiry was the perfect chance for the government to show that they support the victims, and they acknowledge the failures.
![[Christina with her late father, Michael, who supported her throughout her ordeal]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/i-raped-22-times-grooming-962565925.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
“It doesn’t surprise me that it was voted down, but it’s so disappointing. There were so many mistakes by the agencies who should have been looking after me. They will now never be held to account and yet the damage done to me and to my family impacts me every day.
![[Christina is still haunted by her past having lost her childhood to predators]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/christine-oconnor-fabulous-magazine-831220438.jpg?strip=all&w=640)
