Very unpleasant story splashed across the newspapers today: A council caretaker trafficked young girls into Britain to work as prostitutes after they had been put under a voodoo spell.
Woolwich Crown Court also heard that Anthony Harrison, 32, allegedly raped two girls after they had been subjected to horrific abuse during a black magic ritual by a people-smuggling gang.
The details of this story are particularly nasty so I won't repeat them all here, but the case highlights the huge challenges that magic and witchcraft in certain African cultures - believed to have been a feature in the Victoria Climbie case - can pose to child protection in the UK. We explored this in a recent feature; well worth a read.
