Sarah was 11 when men began grooming and abusing her in 2003, giving her food, drinks and cigarettes before sexually assaulting her.
“I was targeted when I was 11 years old, not long before my 12th birthday; I was actually targeted on my school playground,” she said.
“I was abused until I was 16, I was trafficked up and down the country and it changed me in ways where I was angry with the world.”
Since 2024, Sarah has given evidence in three separate trials at Sheffield Crown Court, with the most recent case ending in February 2026.
“Since February, I thought this is my break,” she said. “I’ve had major heart surgery and had to recover from that, and then I get this letter.”
She said she had since been contacted by a victim support officer, explaining two of her abusers – Obaidullah Omari and Riyasth Hussain – could be eligible for earlier release.
“I didn’t think it was going to affect any of my perpetrators because they’ve only just gone to prison, but in fact it does,” she said.
“We shouldn’t have to keep fighting for our rights when a government who says they stand with survivors are letting us down all over again.
“I feel like I’ve been dragged into another trial of life where we’ve got to fight for our rights again.”
In a statement, the Ministry of Justice said the prison system had been “running at 99% capacity” when Labour came to power in 2024, with fewer than 100 places left at one point.
Since then, it said it had begun creating an extra 14,000 prison places, of which 3,200 have been delivered, but said further changes were needed to manage the prison population to “ensure we can always lock up dangerous offenders”.
It added that despite the introduction of earlier release programmes, those who “break the rule and behave badly will stay locked up for longer and potentially 100% of their sentence”.
A spokesperson said: “The grooming gangs scandal was one of Britain’s darkest moments. That’s why we launched an Independent Inquiry, toughened sentencing so these vile predators face longer sentences and have driven child sex offence convictions to record levels.
“But because this government is sending more of these vile offenders to prison, and after just 500 prison places were added under the last government, failing to act would mean prisons running out of space again, leaving police unable to make arrests and courts unable to send offenders to prison altogether.”
