UK Police Watchdog Digs Deeper Into Child Sexual Abuse Cover-Ups in London

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The UK’s Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has added three cases to be looked into as part of a huge investigation into Metropolitan Police corruption, in which child sexual abuse by police officers and UK officials was allegedly covered up, the watchdog said.

"The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is to manage a further three investigations detailing allegations of corruption in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in relation to child sex offenses dating from the 1970s to the 2000s," the agency said in a statement, dated Thursday.

This brings the number of referrals to 17. The commission first announced it was probing sexual assaults against children in London and the Metropolitan Area back on March 16, 2015.

Metropolitan police face accusations of covering up offenses that involved members of parliament and police officers, the suppression of evidence and halting investigations.

One referral deals with a probe in central London that was allegedly dropped two months after its launch at the request of a senior MPS officer. Suspects in the case included judges, media entertainers, actors and clergy.

Police in the United Kingdom have been tarnished by alleged cover-ups of child abuse. In another case, also under investigation by the IPCC, 42 police officers in South Yorkshire are under investigation for their handling of the Rotherham scandal, in which children were sexually exploited between 2004 and 2006.