Convicted sex trafficker was employed by charity for vulnerable teenagers

A Nigerian convicted of trafficking women for prostitution in France was able to get a job at a UK charity that houses vulnerable teenagers, including girls, the Sunday Express can reveal.

Peter Omoruyi, 36, was convicted in his absence of four offences of modern slavery and human trafficking in June 2022 and sentenced to six years in prison that he has yet to serve.

Just five months after the conviction, Omoruyi got a job as a support worker at charity Streetz Ahead Creative Housing, in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

He was able to secure the position thanks to a loophole that means “unregulated care homes” providing housing for older teens are not yet registered with Ofsted and therefore not subject to its stringent conditions such as overseas conviction checks on all staff.

Streetz Ahead, which is in the process of registering with Ofsted, provides supported accommodation for boys and girls aged 16 to 18, sometimes from the care system, until they are found permanent homes.

Omoruyi was hired by the charity via an agency and he did not disclose the conviction at any stage during his employment, despite all convictions having to be declared.

He was fully vetted for criminal convictions in the UK by the charity. But a loophole means that such housing providers are not yet required to carry out checks for overseas convictions.

Details of Omoruyi’s work at the charity emerged during an extradition hearing. He was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant on January 6 while attempting to board a flight to Nigeria.

He has since left the charity, which had no idea about the conviction or extradition until contacted by this newspaper last week.

At a hearing in February, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that Omoruyi was aware of the conviction, as a lawyer had represented him at trial.

The court heard the convictions concerned “aiding prostitution from 2019 to 2020 and human trafficking by driving prostitutes around in Lyon”.

The prostitution earned him at least 190,000 euros and Omoruyi had not declared any income in France, the court heard. His lawyer argued he should be released with stringent bail conditions, so he could continue to work a 40-hour week at a “social housing project for children with Streetz Ahead”.

Bail was refused after the CPS argued he had access to significant funds, was a serious flight risk and there were “serious concerns about further offences”.

Omoruyi has two children in France and two from Nigeria, who are now in the UK, and owns a flat in Stroud, separate to the one he was living at when arrested.

He also has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Omoruyi made a further bail application last month and despite CPS objections was released on conditional bail after paying a £10,000 surety. He is under an electronically monitored curfew from 10pm to 8am. Confronted by the Sunday Express, Omoruyi said he was innocent and had a lawyer appealing the conviction and family raised his surety money.

He claimed he was not convicted when he applied to Streetz Ahead and had nothing to disclose.

And he said he did not leave France to evade justice and was not there on some of the dates suggested at trial. He was fighting extradition as he is terminally ill with a brain tumour and wants to be with his children.

He also said he had worked as a support worker for other UK employers prior to Streetz Ahead.

He said: “I’ve been working at Streetz Ahead for the past... I think over one or two years. I don’t work there now because of this case.

“My baby mama in France told me they are looking for me. I engaged a lawyer who appealed the decision and we’re awaiting a date.

I didn’t transport prostitutes, I didn’t traffic women.

“Trafficking is when you’re bringing people outside the country, illegally into a country. I didn’t traffic anyone across any borders.”

He said he inadvertently became wrapped up in the prostitution ring through a “no questions asked” car finance scheme he set up which was, unbeknown to him, used by prostitutes for transport.

Leigh Bown, a former Care Quality Commission inspector who took over as operations director at Streetz Ahead in January, said he could not comment on Omoruyi due to data protection issues.

But he added: “Streetz Ahead have had no knowledge of any historical or existing issues relating to any staff members, past or present, that have been convicted of crimes.

“Our safer recruitment processes are in place to ensure this is the case and puts an onus on all staff at the point of recruitment to self-declare.

“All staff that work at Streetz Ahead have had satisfactory references and DBS enhanced checks.

“While references for all overseas applicants have always been sought, overseas criminal record checks had not been part of our recruitment procedures up until November 2023.

“This is when our new leadership team took over and started bringing the company up to compliance standards.

“No applicant to our service would be employed if there are concerns regarding suitability to work with young people and vulnerable adults.”

Siobhan Baillie, the Tory MP for Stroud, said: “The Government needs to look to close any loophole as soon as possible.

“Ofsted should be ordered to implement overseas check procedures as a matter of urgency.

“Affected charities and organisations should not wait for regulation.

They can use this paper highlighting the issue to create rigorous overseas background checks to protect the vulnerable.”

He was fully vetted for criminal convictions in the UK by the charity. But a loophole means that such housing providers are not yet required to carry out checks for overseas convictions.

Details of Omoruyi’s work at the charity emerged during an extradition hearing. He was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant on January 6 while attempting to board a flight to Nigeria.

He has since left the charity, which had no idea about the conviction or extradition until contacted by this newspaper last week.

At a hearing in February, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that Omoruyi was aware of the conviction, as a lawyer had represented him at trial.

The court heard the convictions concerned “aiding prostitution from 2019 to 2020 and human trafficking by driving prostitutes around in Lyon”.

The prostitution earned him at least 190,000 euros and Omoruyi had not declared any income in France, the court heard. His lawyer argued he should be released with stringent bail conditions, so he could continue to work a 40-hour week at a “social housing project for children with Streetz Ahead”.

Bail was refused after the CPS argued he had access to significant funds, was a serious flight risk and there were “serious concerns about further offences”.

Omoruyi has two children in France and two from Nigeria, who are now in the UK, and owns a flat in Stroud, separate to the one he was living at when arrested.

He also has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Omoruyi made a further bail application last month and despite CPS objections was released on conditional bail after paying a £10,000 surety. He is under an electronically monitored curfew from 10pm to 8am. Confronted by the Sunday Express, Omoruyi said he was innocent and had a lawyer appealing the conviction and family raised his surety money.

He claimed he was not convicted when he applied to Streetz Ahead and had nothing to disclose.

And he said he did not leave France to evade justice and was not there on some of the dates suggested at trial. He was fighting extradition as he is terminally ill with a brain tumour and wants to be with his children.

He also said he had worked as a support worker for other UK employers prior to Streetz Ahead.

He said: “I’ve been working at Streetz Ahead for the past... I think over one or two years. I don’t work there now because of this case.

“My baby mama in France told me they are looking for me. I engaged a lawyer who appealed the decision and we’re awaiting a date.

I didn’t transport prostitutes, I didn’t traffic women.

“Trafficking is when you’re bringing people outside the country, illegally into a country. I didn’t traffic anyone across any borders.”

He said he inadvertently became wrapped up in the prostitution ring through a “no questions asked” car finance scheme he set up which was, unbeknown to him, used by prostitutes for transport.

Leigh Bown, a former Care Quality Commission inspector who took over as operations director at Streetz Ahead in January, said he could not comment on Omoruyi due to data protection issues.

But he added: “Streetz Ahead have had no knowledge of any historical or existing issues relating to any staff members, past or present, that have been convicted of crimes.

“Our safer recruitment processes are in place to ensure this is the case and puts an onus on all staff at the point of recruitment to self-declare.

“All staff that work at Streetz Ahead have had satisfactory references and DBS enhanced checks.

“While references for all overseas applicants have always been sought, overseas criminal record checks had not been part of our recruitment procedures up until November 2023.

“This is when our new leadership team took over and started bringing the company up to compliance standards.

“No applicant to our service would be employed if there are concerns regarding suitability to work with young people and vulnerable adults.”

Siobhan Baillie, the Tory MP for Stroud, said: “The Government needs to look to close any loophole as soon as possible.

“Ofsted should be ordered to implement overseas check procedures as a matter of urgency.

“Affected charities and organisations should not wait for regulation.

They can use this paper highlighting the issue to create rigorous overseas background checks to protect the vulnerable.”