The Grooming Files

Category: Investigate Journalism

  • When Safeguarding Means “Prove He Meant It”

    There’s a sentence in a recent Wales Online report that should chill anyone who actually understands safeguarding: The committee recognised the message could be seen as sexual but did not find any sexual intention. Read that again. Because what it…

    When Safeguarding Means “Prove He Meant It”

  • Dying Behind Bars: How Britain’s Prisons Are Failing People With Epilepsy

    ©️ By Sophie Lewis | The Grooming Files | November 2025 A damning new report from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman reveals that prisoners with epilepsy are dying at alarming rates, with systemic failures in diagnosis, care planning and emergency…

    Dying Behind Bars: How Britain’s Prisons Are Failing People With Epilepsy

  • “YOU WERE HEARD, AND YOU WERE BELIEVED”: THE MEDOMSLEY SCANDAL

    ©️ Sophie Lewis|Sophie Editorial Damning 200-Page Report Exposes How Authorities Enabled Britain’s “Most Prolific Sex Offender” to Abuse Over 2,000 Boys for 26 Years Warning: This release contains distressing content about child sexual and physical abuse. 12 November 2025 –…

    “YOU WERE HEARD, AND YOU WERE BELIEVED”: THE MEDOMSLEY SCANDAL

  • Eddie B Update: 24 Months Under Investigation — The NFA That Raises More Questions Than Answers

    © By Sophie Lewis | The Grooming Files About This ResearchSophie Lewis is a final-year BA (Hons) Social Sciences student specialising in criminology, forensic psychology, and counselling. This research is conducted independently with full informed consent protocols and trauma-informed methodology.…

    Eddie B Update: 24 Months Under Investigation — The NFA That Raises More Questions Than Answers

  • Part 3: Psychological Profile – Eddie B

    © By Sophie Lewis | The Grooming Files 1. Surface Presentation Eddie positions himself as cooperative and even helpful: He frames himself as both victim (“I am not attracted to children… there [are] just thoughts I get”) and ally (“These…

    Part 3: Psychological Profile – Eddie B

  • Part 2: Inside the Mind of Eddie B

    © By Sophie Lewis | NUJ | Journalist | The Grooming Files A Case Study in Exposure-Seeking Behaviour When Eddie B first contacted me, it wasn’t to confess or apologise. It was to “expose others.” He pointed to online spaces…

    Part 2: Inside the Mind of Eddie B

  • The Grooming Files — A Chapter Closes, The Work Lives On

    ©️ By Sophie Lewis | @sophielewiseditorial When I started The Grooming Files in March 2025, I thought I was starting a blog.In reality, I was building a weapon. It began with one mission, drag the early-internet grooming era into the…

    The Grooming Files — A Chapter Closes, The Work Lives On

  • On Record

    A Statement from Sophie Lewis on Predator Exposure, Accountability Work, and Public Misinformation Why I’m Writing This This statement is not a defence.It’s not an apology.It’s a record, one that should have been written sooner. In the past year, I’ve…

    On Record

  • The Generation the Internet Groomed — And the System Forgot

    ©️ By Sophie Lewis | The Grooming Files | @sophielewiseditorial We were the first kids online. Dial-up tones. MSN Messenger. Webcams balanced on bulky monitors. No rules. No warnings. No one watching. And the predators? They found us before our parents…

    The Generation the Internet Groomed — And the System Forgot

  • The Paper Trail – What the Files Reveal

    Part 2 of The Record They Buried – And the Woman Who Survived It “Only marginally looked after.”“Would be better in care.”“Emotionally deprived.”“Clothes dirty. Hair matted. No stimulation at home.”“She was very frightened when I spoke to her.”“Pam said she…

    The Paper Trail – What the Files Reveal

  • Hijacked: How Grooming Survivors Were Exploited by a Political Circus

    ©️ By Sophie Lewis | The Grooming Files | @sophielewiseditorial Let’s cut through the bullshit. For years now, a very specific narrative has been pushed around grooming gangs in the UK — one that focuses almost exclusively on Asian or…

    Hijacked: How Grooming Survivors Were Exploited by a Political Circus

  • The Predator Paradox: When Exposure Becomes the Behaviour

    ©️ By Sophie Lewis | NUJ-accredited Journalist | The Grooming Files The Message That Shouldn’t Have Happened It didn’t start with a sting. It didn’t start with a victim. It started with a message no one should ever receive: “You…

    The Predator Paradox: When Exposure Becomes the Behaviour

  • BREAKING: Death in Custody at HMP Swansea Confirmed

    © @sophielewiseditorial | The Grooming Files | By Sophie Lewis The death of a prisoner, Lee Draper at HMP Swansea has been officially confirmed by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO). The incident occurred on Wednesday 19 June 2025. Until…

    BREAKING: Death in Custody at HMP Swansea Confirmed

  • Part 4 – What Predators Won’t Tell You — And What We Must Learn From This

    ©️ An investigative series by Sophie Lewis | The Grooming Files | @sophielewiseditorial “I have now sat face to face — and screen to screen — with predators who know exactly what they are, and who know the system will…

    Part 4 – What Predators Won’t Tell You — And What We Must Learn From This

  • Part 2 – Inside the Spiral: Why Predators Are Now Seeking Their Own Exposure

    An investigative series ©️ by Sophie Lewis | The Grooming Files | @sophielewiseditorial “Another predator came to me. Begging to be exposed. It’s happening again — and it is not an accident.” When the first predator came to me —…

    Part 2 – Inside the Spiral: Why Predators Are Now Seeking Their Own Exposure