Savita Shehu)

“The women and children are being raped in broad daylight on a crowded street, and no one does more than the police to help them. And there seem to be no consequences for the perpetrators that the victims know. The law doesn’t exist to protect human rights and I think the police are the ones who are protecting human rights. We want an end to these crimes.”

Ms. Deirdre Enright, the police superintendent, said the case appeared to be a one-off and that the police had no evidence that other sexual assaults had taken place in similar places in Rotherham between 2007 and 2010. The case was still under investigation and no charges were being taken, she said.

“Clearly the investigation is continuing and the victim-survivors and relatives of the victims have had an opportunity to give evidence,” Ms. Enright added. “As police officers, we take matters of sexual assault very seriously. We are working closely with our colleagues in the South Yorkshire force in order to assist in their investigation.”

One of the victims, Reyaad Khan, a friend of one of the boys in Rotherham, said she had been horrified by the extent of the sexual abuse. She was raped a total of 17 times while growing up in Rotherham, she said in a statement.

“Rotherham is a town full of evil and that is where the problem began,” she said. “Every time I went to school, to work or to school dances, I had to watch my friends being raped without any protection.”

A spokeswoman for the South Yorkshire police said that detectives were examining any evidence from the inquiry, which she said could include computer evidence.