Family says justice denied as new evidence surfaces in Jodie Sheeran rape case

A family pursuing justice for Jodie Sheeran say a new development in a forty-year-old case underscores ongoing concerns about how authorities handle cases of child sexual abuse. It has emerged that a video recording of Jodie’s police interview from the night she was raped by a member of a grooming gang was available, but was not reviewed by prosecutors during earlier examinations of the case. The Crown Prosecution Service says it asked for all available evidence but was not provided with this tape, while Staffordshire Police say the recording did exist and was accessible to senior investigators during reviews in 2019 and 2023. An update provided in August 2025 confirms a copy of the recording was supplied to the CPS to verify the contemporaneous written record of the interview. The 2004 incident, in which Jodie was 14, led to a 2005 prosecution that was later discontinued, and Jodie died in 2022 without ever obtaining a conviction for the crime.

The night in question began with Jodie being given alcohol and being taken to a hotel by older men who were part of a grooming network. According to family accounts, she was found delirious and under the influence when police were contacted, and she reported being assaulted. CCTV from the Tollgate Hotel in Blurton is cited by relatives as showing Jodie being escorted upstairs by men in their 20s. The family says police later told them she was intoxicated and had no clear memory of the events, while medical notes described her as covered in an unusual powdery residue. A man in his mid-20s was arrested and charged at the time, but the case was dropped the day before it was due to go to trial.

In 2005 the CPS discontinued the case against the suspect, a decision that was later reviewed in 2019 by a different prosecutor who arrived at the same conclusion. Since that time, the CPS says it has significantly updated its approach to prosecuting child sexual abuse, including the creation of dedicated units and victim liaison roles. The agency has stressed that it requested all available evidence during reviews, but it was not provided with the video interview recording from Jodie’s case.

Staffordshire Police indicated the tape was indeed available to senior officers during reviews in 2019 and 2023 and that a comprehensive written record of Jodie’s Achieving Best Evidence interview was provided to the CPS on those occasions. The force said that, in August 2025, a copy of the recording was given to the CPS for due diligence to ensure the written record accurately reflected the video. The police also noted that the 2004/05 investigation was reviewed in 2019 and 2023, and no police failings were identified in the handling of the case. They added that any new evidence would be referred to the CPS for consideration.

The family, including Jodie’s mother Ange and her son Jayden, say they feel misled and let down by authorities. Ange told Sky News that she could not be sure whether she had been misinformed or whether it was an accidental omission, adding that learning the tape had existed all along was shocking. Jayden, who has campaigned for justice since learning he was conceived as a result of that night, said he felt as if authorities “got away with it” and questioned what actions, if any, had followed the discovery of the footage. He noted that prosecutors’ review in 2019 and again in 2023 concluded there was not enough evidence to charge the suspect, and that the video interview had not been shared with the CPS at that time.

A Staffordshire Police spokesperson described the case as one that has driven extensive internal review. The force said the Professional Standards Department investigated a 2024 complaint by Ange Sheeran and found no police failings in the 2004/05 handling of the case, while adding that the investigation remains open to new evidence that could prompt a fresh evidential review. The CPS acknowledged the sorrow surrounding Jodie’s death in 2022 and reiterated its condolences to the family, while stressing that the evolving nature of prosecutorial standards has changed how such cases are handled over the past two decades.

The revelations come as Jodie’s family and supporters have stepped up public attention to grooming and exploitation by networks that operate across towns. They recently participated in a documentary produced by Sammy Woodhouse, a survivor of a grooming gang in another part of the country, in which they describe the long road of seeking accountability. Jayden has also called for stronger protections for children of rape, including recognition under the Victims Bill, and has signaled his intention to pursue legal avenues against authorities for their handling of his mother’s case. In interviews and statements, the family has stressed that their fight is not about race and that the abuse they describe appears to be a broader social problem that transcends communities.

In a broader sense, the family’s experience has intensified calls from advocates for systemic reforms in how authorities identify, investigate, and prosecute cases of child sexual exploitation. Jayden has argued that the issue is not isolated to a single town or community, and he has urged policymakers to address what he calls a pattern of inaction that undermines trust in institutions tasked with protecting victims. Ange and Jayden acknowledged that the path to justice is complex and often slow, but they said they must continue to push for a full, independent review that could determine whether new evidence warrants reopening the case and pursuing charges.

The case against the original suspect remains a matter of public record, with prosecutors maintaining that the evidentiary standard required to charge for rape at the time was not met. Yet for the family, the possibility that additional material existed but was not viewed raises questions about the effectiveness of prior reviews and the adequacy of the system in protecting vulnerable victims. As the grooming crisis continues to prompt parliamentary and public scrutiny, Jodie Sheeran’s case illustrates the enduring human cost of delays and omissions in the pursuit of justice for survivors.