heretics. 639. "Police Told My Mum To Be GLAD" - Fiona Goddard
Apr 2, 2026
Fiona Goddard, a survivor and campaigner who exposed grooming and systemic failures in Bradford. She recounts being targeted in a council care home and how police and services blamed victims. She discusses council-linked hotel placements, racialised targeting, community silence, data manipulation, and her fight for inquiries while rebuilding life as a mother of five.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Targeted Abuse While Authorities Turned A Blind Eye
- Fiona Goddard was picked up as a teenager by groups of Pakistani men and endured sexual abuse, trafficking, and criminal coercion for five years while authorities knew and failed to act.
- She says police/social services blamed victims and even placed her in hotels linked to perpetrators, deepening dependence and access to abusers.
Care Home Positioned Girls For Predators
- Fiona described the council-run Bradford care home as openly targeted by grooming gangs before she arrived and cars waiting outside to intercept girls.
- Within six weeks she and others were groomed after adults lured them from the home with gifts and attention.
Grooming As Control Not Just Sexual Attraction
- Fiona frames the perpetrators' method as control and criminal grooming rather than paedophilic attraction: they mould vulnerable children for exploitation across sex, drugs, fraud and trafficking.
- She highlights emotional bonding then intimidation as the mechanism that converts victims into compliant tools for criminal networks.