Grooming Gangs
Massive exploitation and sexual abuse of white children is being inflicted by hundreds of Asian males throughout the United Kingdom. A report estimated 1,400 children, mostly white, within the city of Rotherham and beyond a suspected 100,000 children, were sexually exploited by Asian gangs over a duration of at least 16 years.
- Grooming Gangs
- Rotherham
- Rochdale
- Blackburn
- Carlisle
- Newcastle
- Telford
- Bolton
- Halifax
- Bradford
- Calderdale
- Keighley
- Huddersfield
- Dewsbury
- Derby
- Banbury
- Manchester
- Oldham
- Rusholme
- Leeds
- Middlesborough
- Peterborough
- Aylesbury
- Chelmsford
- High Wycombe
- Chesham
- Oxford
- Bristol
- Plymouth
- Glasgow
- Birmingham
- Coventry
- Blackpool
- Burton
- Hull
- Ilford and Barking
- Ipswich
- Sheffield
- Redditch
- Yeovil
- Leicester
- Nottingham
- Ramsgate
- Finland
- Cover up
- Paedophile Hunters
- Campaigners
- Rape in Pakistan
- Islam
- Conclusion
- Advice and Information
Grooming Gangs
Between the mid-1990s and the late-2000s, gangs of predominantly British Pakistani Muslim men raped and prostituted thousands of predominantly young, white, working-class girls in towns and cities across England. In 2018, the then home secretary, Sajid Javid (born to a British Pakistani family), promised a full-scale review into grooming gangs, in order to establish ‘the characteristics of offenders, victims and the context in which these crimes are committed’.
There would be ‘no no-go areas of inquiry’, he said. ‘We know that in these recent high-profile cases, [the] people convicted have been disproportionately from a Pakistani background.’ Yet despite Javid promising not to ‘let cultural or political sensitivities get in the way of understanding the problem and doing something about it’, it was revealed in February that the findings of the grooming-gang review were to be withheld from the public.
Shocking revelations on BBC Radio 4 by former North West Chief Crown Prosecutor Nazir Afzal, when he revealed a "Government Cover-Up” started 11 years ago in 2008 when the Labour Government under Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, sent-out a circular to all the British police forces’; stating that:
The BBC Radio 4 interview was kept under wraps, and this is why at the time it never caused much of a public outcry, as it was simply ignored by the MSM. And it was not until ex-police officer, Dionne Miller raised the matter of the circular allegedly sent by Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. One of Afzal's first decisions on becoming a chief crown prosecutor was to initiate prosecutions in the case of the Rochdale sex trafficking gang, overturning an earlier decision by the CPS.
Almost 90% of all rapes and child grooming in the UK that was committed by Pakistani’s, resulted in a white girl under 16 being abused. Between 2005-2017 eighty-four percent of grooming gang offenders were South Asian [source: Quilliam Foundation] (Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims). This is alarming considering only two percent of the UK's population is Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslim men, who are collectively responsible for the underage grooming of white girls.
A study named "Group Localised Child Sexual Exploitation Offenders: Who and Why?" [download PDF] pertaining to group child sex exploitation (grooming gangs), looked into grooming gang trials from 1997-2017 in the UK. The authors, Kish Bhatti-Sinclair [University of Chichester] and Charles Sutcliffe [University of Reading - ICMA Centre], gathered information on all the UK grooming gang prosecutions between 1997 and 2017 from over two thousand local and national media reports. Out of 498 accused, 83% were Muslims. The data shows Muslims, who were 5% of the population in 2011, were 83% of the grooming gang defendants. This translates to 1 in 2200 Muslims (aged 16+) being arrested for such crimes, making them a staggering 92.7 times more likely to be arrested than non-Muslims. To put it in context; to balance the arrest rates between Muslims and non-Muslims, the media would've needed to overlook an astounding 7,847 non-Muslim grooming gang crimes.
A Home Office report, actually reveals that Whites (88% of the population at the time of these studies) are underrepresented, while Asians (7% of the population) and Blacks (3% of the population) are overrepresented. Even study b, which claims Whites are the largest category, the report shows: 35% were White (with only 11% being British) 28% were of Asian & Middle Eastern descent (10x more likely than Whites to commit group CSE) 16% were Black (13.4x more likely than Whites). Even the most generous reports show BAME groups are 10 times more likely to commit group CSE. For context, worldwide, men are only 9 times more likely to murder than women.
Reports of gangs of men abusing children via on-street grooming go back as far as the 1970s. But it first came to major prominence after Labour MP Ann Cryer raised concerns about the targeting of young girls by “Asian men” outside school gates. It was 2003. She was accused of racism by many in her own party and had to install a panic alarm. Cryer was vilified for trying to support girls facing appalling abuse by predominantly Pakistani men. She was the first to endure this treatment, but by no means the last. Then a year later in 2004 came 'Edge of the City,' a Channel 4 documentary about social workers in Bradford. Hours before transmission it was yanked from the schedules.
Unite Against Fascism, The 1990 Trust, and the National Assembly Against Racism lobbied Channel 4 to drop it, as did the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire. The local elections were coming up. And the film captured grooming gangs for the first time. South Asian men abusing teenage white girls. They were worried that the BNP, who were making a lot of noise about the abuse gangs, would profit. So it was canned. Another opportunity to discuss children as young as 11 being gang raped was missed. A journalist based in the north was the next to pick up the story. Andrew Norfolk at The Times had reported on Ann Cryer. But he moved on because he admitted:
But in 2010, something snapped in Norfolk, and he felt like he could no longer ignore it. In 2010 he heard a radio report about a grooming gang in Manchester. He started going through archives. What he found was a pattern. Since 1997 there had been 17 cases in 13 towns where a group of men had approached a girl on the street and groomed her. Of the 56 convicted, 3 were white, 53 were Asian. 50 of those had Muslim names, most were Pakistani. But when he went to the authorities, they refused to talk. Barnados, the children’s charity, told staff not to talk to him. What blew this open was the small town of Rotherham, with its decaying steelworks and beautiful medieval chapel. There Andrew Norfolk met Jayne Senior. She ran Risky Business, a youth project working with children at risk of exploitation. More and more of her work had come to involve abused girls. She was able to introduce Norfolk to victims and their families. But neither the journalist or the whistleblower expected the scale of the scandal that would emerge.
Rotherham
The Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal consisted of the organised child sexual abuse that occurred in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Northern England from the late 1980s until the 2010s and the failure of local authorities to act on reports of the abuse throughout most of that period. Researcher Angie Heal, who was hired by local officials and warned them about child exploitation occurring between 2002 and 2007, has since described it as the “biggest child protection scandal in UK history”.
The Times articles, along with the 2012 trial of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, prompted the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee to conduct hearings. Following this and further articles from Norfolk, Rotherham Council commissioned an independent inquiry led by Professor Alexis Jay.
In August 2014, the Jay report concluded that an estimated 1,400 children, most of them white British girls, had been sexually abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013 by predominantly British-Pakistani men (Kurdish and Kosovar men were also involved).
- Qurban Ali aged 53 convicted of Conspiracy to rape, sentenced to 10 years.
- Arshid Hussain aged 40 convicted of Rape, indecent assault (23 charges), sentenced to 35 years.
- Basharat Hussain aged 39 convicted of Rape (15 charges), sentenced to 25 years
- Bannaras Hussain aged 36 convicted of Rape, indecent assault, actual bodily harm (10 charges), sentenced to 19 years.
- Karen MacGregor aged 58 convicted of False imprisonment, conspiracy to procure prostitutes, sentenced to 13 years.
- Shelley Davies aged 40 convicted of False imprisonment, conspiracy to procure prostitutes, sentenced to 18 months suspended.
- Sageer Hussain aged 30 convicted of 4 rapes, indecent assault, sentenced to 19 years.
- Basharat Hussain aged 40 convicted of Indecent assault, sentenced to 7 years.
- Ishtiaq Khaliq aged 33 convicted of Rape, three indecent assaults, sentenced to 17 years.
- Masoued Malik aged 32 convicted of Rape, false imprisonment, conspiracy to commit indecent assault, sentenced to 15 years.
- Waleed Ali aged 34 convicted of Rape, indecent assault, sentenced to 13 years.
- Asif Ali aged 30 convicted of Rape, sentenced to 12 years.
- Naeem Rafiq aged 33 convicted of Conspiracy to commit indecent assault, false imprisonment, sentenced to 8 years.
- Mohammed Whied aged 32 convicted of Aiding and abetting rape, sentenced to 5 years.
- Basharat Dad aged 32 convicted of Rape, indecent assault, and false imprisonment, sentenced to 20 years.
- Nasser Dad aged 36 convicted of Rape, false imprisonment, inciting gross indecency with a child, sentenced to 14 years, 6 months.
- Tayab Dad aged 34 convicted of Rape, sentenced to 10 years.
- Mohammed Sadiq aged 41 convicted of Sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, sentenced to 13 years.
- Matloob Hussain aged 42 convicted of Sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, sentenced to 13 years.
- Amjad Ali aged 36 convicted of Sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, sentenced to 11 years.
- Zalgai Ahmadi aged 45 convicted of Conspiracy to commit sexual assault and false imprisonment, sentenced to 9 years, 6 months.
- Sajid Ali aged 38 convicted of Seven counts of indecent assault, sentenced to 7 years, 6 months.
- Zaheer Iqbal aged 40 convicted of Five counts of indecent assault, sentenced to 7 years, 6 months.
- Riaz Makhmood aged 39 convicted of Three counts of indecent assault, sentenced to 6 years, 9 Months.
- Asghar Bostan aged 47 convicted of One count of rape, sentenced to 9 years.
- Khurram Javed aged 35 convicted of One count of sexual assault, sentenced to 2 years.
- Tony Chapman aged 42 convicted of Seventeen child sexual abuse offences, sentenced to 25 years.
- Darren Hyett aged 55 convicted of One count of sexual activity with a child, sentenced to 9 years.
- Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar aged 37 convicted of One count of rape, one count of aiding and abetting rape, three counts of indecent assault, one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another and count of sexual assault, sentenced to 23 years.
- Nabeel Kurshid aged 39 convicted of Two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, sentenced to 19 years.
- Iqlak Yousaf aged 34 convicted of Two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault, sentenced to 20 years.
- Tanweer Ali aged 37 convicted of Two counts of rape, two counts of indecent assault and one count of false imprisonment, sentenced to 14 years.
- Salah Ahmed El-Hakam aged 39 convicted of One count of rape, sentenced to 15 years.
- Asif Ali aged 33 convicted of Two counts of indecent assaults, sentenced to 10 years.
- Unnamed Man convicted of Two counts of rape.
- Aftab Hussain aged 40 convicted of Two counts of indecent assault, sentenced to 24 years.
- Abid Saddiq aged 38 convicted of Two counts of rape, four counts of indecent assault and two counts of child abduction, sentenced to 20 years.
- Masaued Malik aged 35 convicted of Three counts of indecent assault, sentenced to 5 years.
- Sharaz Hussain aged 35 convicted of Four counts of indecent assault, sentenced to 4 years.
- Mohammed Ashen aged 35 convicted of Three counts of indecent assault, sentenced to 18 years.
- Waseem Khaliq aged 35 convicted of Two counts of child abduction, three counts of witness intimidation and indecent assault, sentenced to 13 years 9 months.
- Unnamed Man convicted of Two counts of indecent assault yet to be sentenced.
A “common thread” was that taxi drivers had been picking the children up for sex from care homes and schools. The abuse included gang rape, forcing children to watch rape, dousing them with petrol and threatening to set them on fire, threatening to rape their mothers and younger sisters, and trafficking them to other towns. There were pregnancies—one at age 12—terminations, miscarriages, babies raised by their mothers, and babies removed, causing further trauma.
The failure to address the abuse was attributed to a combination of factors revolving around race, class, and gender—contemptuous and sexist attitudes toward the mostly working-class victims; fear that the perpetrators' ethnicity would trigger allegations of racism and damage community relations; the Labour council's reluctance to challenge a Labour-voting ethnic minority; lack of a child-centred focus; a desire to protect the town's reputation; and lack of training and resources.
Rotherham Council's chief executive, its director of children's services, and the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire Police all resigned. The Independent Police Complaints Commission and the National Crime Agency both opened inquiries, the latter expected to last eight years. The government appointed Louise Casey to conduct an inspection of Rotherham Council.
Published in January 2015, the Casey report concluded that the council had a bullying, sexist culture of covering up information and silencing whistleblowers, and was “not fit for purpose”. In February 2015, the government replaced the council's elected officers with a team of five commissioners. As a result of new police inquiries, 19 men and two women were convicted in 2016 and 2017 of sexual offences in the town dating back to the late 1980s; one of the ringleaders was jailed for 35 years.
At least 54 police officers operating in and around Rotherham are accused of turning a blind eye to more than a decade of horrific child abuse by gangs of Asian men. Below are three Rotherham police officers from time of the Jay Report.
According to one victim, who believed she was "in a relationship" with Basharat Hussain when she was 15, the brothers had influence over some officers at South Yorkshire Police. She told Sheffiled Crown Court:
These claims were investigated. But in at least one case in the early 2000s, a victims abuser seemed to be aware she was at a police station, waiting to make a complaint against him.
Not a single police officer has been sacked over widespread failures that let down victims of Asian grooming gangs in Rotherham. A report released 13th November 2021 by the Independent Office for Police Conduct said urgent action was needed to deal with problems that ‘still exist’ in handling child sex abuse cases. Operation Linden probed 47 South Yorkshire Police officers after 44 white girls were abused between 1997 and 2013. But after six years of work, and with only one misconduct hearing outstanding, no officer has been fired for mistakes made.
Peer and former politician Lord Nazir Ahmed has been jailed for five years and six months for the attempted rape of a young girl and sexually assaulting a boy under 11 in the 1970s. The 64-year-old, who has resigned from the House of Lords but retains the title Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court in January of two counts of attempted rape and one of buggery. The court heard how the repeated abuse happened in Rotherham when he was a teenager in the 1970s. On Friday 4th February 2022 a judge, Mr Justice Lavender, jailed Ahmed for five years and six months.
Ahmed’s two older brothers Mohammed Farouq, 71, and Mohammed Tariq, 66, were also charged with indecent assault in relation to the same boy that Ahmed abused. Both men were deemed unfit to stand trial, but a jury found that they did the acts alleged. Farouq and Tariq were both given absolute discharges after the judge said the only other two options – a hospital order or a supervision order – would not be appropriate in this case. The judge said that according to legal guidelines, the sentence must be in line with the one that would have been imposed at the time the offence was committed. He jailed Ahmed for three and a half years for the offence of buggery, and imposed two concurrent sentences of two years for each of the attempted rapes.
In December 2024 two former police officers were arrested as part of an investigation into child sexual offences in Rotherham dating back to the 1990s. South Yorkshire police said a retired constable, now in his 60s, had been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, attempted rape and three counts of indecent assault. The former officer is being investigated after allegations of child sexual abuse relating to two girls between 1995 and 1999, a spokesperson for the force said, the ages of the alleged victims have not been revealed. Another former constable, now in his 50s, had been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and indecent assault in connection with an incident in 1995-96. Both men were bailed pending further inquiries, the spokesperson said. He added the alleged offences took place while the officers, who both worked in Rotherham, were on duty.
Rochdale
The Rochdale child sex abuse ring involved underage teenage girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Nine men were convicted of sex-trafficking and other offences including rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child in May 2012. This resulted in Greater Manchester Police launching Operation Doublet to investigate further claims of abuse with 19 men so far being convicted. Forty-seven girls were identified as victims of child sexual exploitation during the police investigation.
- Afraz Ahmed (33), guilty of 12 counts, 25 years in prison.
- Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain (38), guilty of 6 counts, 19 years in prison. Fled to and arrested in Pakistan in January 2020 via a joint operation of UK and Pakistan police. He was extradited to the UK in 2021 to server his sentence.
- Rehan Ali (27), guilty of 4 counts, 7 years in prison.
- Kutab Miah (35), 4 counts, 9 years in prison.
- Mohammed Dauood (38), 6 counts, 16 years in prison.
- Abid Khan (39), 4 counts, 6.5 years in prison.
- Mohammed Zahid (55), 1 count, 5 years in prison.
- David Law (46), 2 counts, 11 years in prison.
- A man who cannot be named for legal reasons, 6 counts, 23 years in prison plus 8 years on extended licence.
- Mahfuz Rahman (29), 3 counts, 5.5 years in prison.
- Mohammed Ishaque (56), 1 count, 11 years in prison.
- Gul Zaman (44), 2 counts, 10 years in prison.
- Irshad Wani (39), 8 counts, 9 years in prison.
- Shohaib Shabbir (28), 2 counts, 7 years in prison.
- Joshim Miah (32), 1 count, 7 years in prison.
- Ittefaq Yousaf (26), 2 counts, 20 months in prison.
- Mohammed Sadeer (28), 1 count, 16 years in prison.
- Ashafaq Yousaf (31), 4 counts, 19 years in prison.
- Mohammed Miah (41), 1 count, 16 years in prison.
The men were British Pakistanis, which led to discussion on whether the failure to investigate them was linked to the authorities' fear of being accused of racial prejudice. The girls were mainly White British. In March 2015, Greater Manchester Police apologized for its failure to investigate the child sexual exploitation allegations more thoroughly between 2008–10.
Burton and Burton lawyers acted for four of the Rochdale sex gang as they fought deportation to Pakistan: Shabir Ahmed, Adil Khan, Abdul Aziz and Qari Abdul Rauf.
Some gang members told the court the girls were willing participants and happy having sex with the men. The ringleader, 59-year-old Shabir Ahmed, claimed the girls were "prostitutes" who had been running a "business empire" and it was all "white lies". He shouted in court, "Where are the white people? You have only got my kind here." Shabir Ahmed's threatening behaviour and calling Judge Gerald Clifton a "racist bastard" resulted in him being banned from the court for the sentencing hearing.
Sara Rowbotham, the sexual health worker who first recognized patterns of child abuse in the community and fought to bring these crimes to police attention, was made redundant in 2014. A former Detective Constable who was investigating the grooming gangs, Margaret Oliver, resigned in 2012 in disgust of the handling of the cases by the police force and spoke out as a whistleblower to inform the public.
Operation Exmoor, has identified ten new victims in Rochdale aged nine to 16 who were sexually abused between 2008 and and 2013. A wide range of alleged offences committed against them includes rape and sexual assault. It was begun after a review of Operation Span, an investigation into an infamous child sex grooming gang led by Shabir Ahmed, known as "Daddy". Ahmed and eight others were convicted and jailed for a series of sex crimes committed against five girls who were abused and then 'shared' at sex parties across the north west between 2005 and 2008, although details of their crimes only emerged in 2012.
A victim (under a sudo name of Daisy) of Rochdale grooming gangs has told the BBC that convictions she received as a teenager - for offences linked to the abuse she was suffering - have destroyed her hopes of a career. The convictions she received as a teen continue to hold her back to this day. She had ambitions to become a social worker, to use her painful past to help others in the future.
But because of an obligation to disclose criminal convictions, she has been prevented from pursuing her chosen career. The men who abused her have never been prosecuted Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women's Justice, as supported her in a civil action against Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Since release the trio Qari Abdul Rauf, Abdul Aziz and Adil Khan have been facing deportation since 2018 after losing an appeal to retain their British citizenship. MP Tony Lloyd said the government had shown "grossly unacceptable inaction". Former police detective Maggie Oliver, who resigned over the way the cases were handled by Greater Manchester Police, said news of the sighting of Rauf had made her "blood boil".
Seven years after being told they face deportation two of the men are still appealing using Article 8 of the ECHR - their right to a private and family life. The legacy of Rochdale grooming gangs legal fees have drawn £2,025,363 from assistance of legal aid.
Five RAPISTS jailed for 70 YEARS for non-recent CHILD sexual exploitation in ROCHDALE. Five men have been jailed for more than seven decades for non-recent child sexual exploitation in Rochdale, following a partnership response by Greater Manchester Police, Rochdale Council and the Crown Prosecution Service. Mohammed Ghani, 39, Insar Hussain, 38, Jahn Shahid Ghani, 50, Martin Rhodes, 39, and Ali Razza Hussain Kazmi, 36, were found guilty of abusing and sexually exploiting two teenage girls between 2002 and 2006.
Yesterday (31 October 2023), Jahn Shahid Ghani was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for six counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, Mohammed Ghani was sentenced to 14 years for five counts of sexual assault. Insar Hussain was sentenced to 17 years for one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault, Ali Razza Hussain Kazmi was sentenced to eight years for one count of rape and two counts of sexual intercourse with a child, and Martin Rhodes was sentenced to 12 years six months for four counts of sexual assault.
Katie Hopkins was reported to the police after she was accused by Labour MP for Rochdale Simon Danczuk of inciting racial hatred. The Sun columnist appeared to equate men of Pakistani origin to child abusers in a series of posts on Twitter. Her comments follow a lengthy argument with Danczuk on the social network about his decision to mark National Pakistan Day on 23 March in Rochdale by raising the Pakistani flag for 30 minutes. Hopkins claimed it was wrong to raise the flag in the constituency where, in 2012, nine men were jailed for their part in a paedophile ring. Eight of the men were of Pakistani origin.
Blackburn
A gang of nine Asian men who groomed white girls as young as 13 with drink and drugs have been sentenced on the 9th of May 2012. The men were convicted on the 8th of May of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children under the age of 16 and other offences. Judge Clifton said the men had been convicted for their “grave” sexual offences, which involved “grooming and sexually exploiting” several young girls.
- Kabeer Hassan, 25, was jailed for nine years for rape and three years, concurrently, for the conspiracy conviction.
- Abdul Aziz, 41, was sentenced to nine years for conspiracy and nine years, concurrently, for trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- Abdul Rauf, 43, was jailed for six years for conspiracy and six years, concurrently, for trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- Mohammed Sajid, 35, was sentenced to 12 years for rape, six years for conspiracy, one year for trafficking and six years, all concurrent, for sexual activity with a child.
- Adil Khan, 42, was given eight years for conspiracy and eight years, concurrently, for trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- Mohammed Amin, 45, was sentenced to five years for conspiracy and 12 months, concurrently, for sexual assault.
- Abdul Qayyum, 44, was jailed for five years for conspiracy.
- Hamid Safi, 22, was jailed for four years for conspiracy and one year, concurrently, for trafficking.
The man seen as the ringleader, a 59-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for a total of 19 years for conspiracy, two counts of rape, aiding and abetting a rape, sexual assault and a count of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation. The defendant was previously banned from court because of his threatening behaviour and for calling the judge a “racist bastard”.
Summing up, Judge Gerald Clifton said:
Two girls were abducted from social services care by older men, who plied them with ecstasy and alcohol and had sex with them. The first lived at a children's home in Lancashire and the second had been placed with foster parents but - because of her persistent truancy - she was moved to a children's home in Wales. The girls were given ecstasy tablets throughout the night by the two men, along with alcohol, the court was told.
- Zulfar Hussain, 46, from Cowell Way, Blackburn was sentenced to five years and eight months for "exploiting" the vulnerable under 16s.
- Qaiser Naveed, 32, from Colne Road, Burnley was sentenced to five years and eight months for "exploiting" the vulnerable under 16s.
Hussain and Naveed admitted abducting a child, sexual activity with the same child and supplying the youngsters with ecstasy. They were ordered to sign the sex offender's register for life and banned for life from associating with girls aged under 16 for life. The court heard that the immigration authorities were currently making efforts to deport Naveed, but not in relation to the current case. After the hearing, Chief Inspector Alice Knowles said: "These girls were vulnerable and more susceptible to their grooming techniques of offering them drugs and alcohol.".
Carlisle
A Carlisle takeaway boss was jailed for 15 years in May, 2012 for attempting to recruit four girls aged between 12 and 16 into prostitution. Azad Miah, 44, was also found guilty of running a brothel from his business and paying two teenagers for sex. The married father-of-two was owner of the former Spice of India restaurant. Judge Peter Hughes, QC, said the case at Carlisle Crown Court showed "the seedier side" of UK towns and called for more protection for children. Det Insp Geoff Huddlestone of Cumbria Police, said Miah had got the sentence he deserved and that he had "committed heinous crimes".
The hearing heard that one girl was encouraged to have sex with him out of desperation for cash when she was 15, while he had a sexual relationship with the other, a heroin addict, when she was aged between 15 and 17. The jury also heard that the Bangladeshi national had targeted "desperate and vulnerable" victims and treated them in a "cold and clinical way". The court heard the 12-year-old girl had complained to police three times about Miah persistently harassing her in 2008, three years before his arrest. She said she eventually gave up complaining because nothing was done, although Miah's legal team said there was no official record of her complaints.
Judge Hughes said: "Over a number of years, behind the veil of a seemingly respectable business, you preyed on the immaturity and vulnerability of young girls from troubled and chaotic home backgrounds. You sought to draw them into a life of drug dependency and sleazy sex for money. When you did not desire their sexual services for yourself you made them available to others. Your conduct corrodes the foundations of decency and respect by which all right-thinking people live their lives whatever their ethnic or religious background." The hearing also heard that up to 30 potential victims of Miah were approached as part of the investigation but many were reluctant to come forward and give evidence.
Newcastle
The Newcastle sex abuse ring were a gang of seventeen men and a woman who sexually abused adolescent girls and young women from 2010 to 2014 in Newcastle upon Tyne after plying them with alcohol and drugs. The men were of Albanian, Kurdish, Bangladeshi, Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi, Eastern European and Pakistani heritage who were aged between 27 and 44.
A total of 17 men and one woman have been convicted of offences including rape, sexual abuse, supplying drugs and trafficking for sexual exploitation in a series of trials over the Newcastle case.
The woman was a 22-year-old white British woman. A British man of Indian heritage was charged for conspiracy to incite prostitution and supplying drugs to a victim. The victims ranged in age from 13 to 25.
The 18 gang members were convicted of nearly 100 offences:
- Mohammed Azram, 35, of Croydon Road, convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, sexual assault, supplying drugs to a victim.
- Jahangir Zaman, 43, of Hadrian Road, convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, rape, supplying drugs to a victim.
- Nashir Uddin, 35, of Joan Street, convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, supplying drugs to a victim.
- Saiful Islam, 34, of Strathmore Crescent, convicted of rape. Jailed for 10 years
- Mohammed Hassan Ali, 33, of Bentinck Street, convicted of sexual activity with a child, supplying drugs to a victim. Jailed for seven years.
- Yasser Hussain, 27, of Canning Street, convicted of beating, possession of drugs. Jailed for two years.
- Abdul Sabe, 40, of Dean House, convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation, drugs offences.
- Habibur Rahim, 34, of Kenilworth Road, convicted of causing or inciting prostitution, drugs, sexual assault, trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation.
- Badrul Hussain, 37, of Drybeck Court, convicted of drug offences.
- Mohibur Rahman, 44, of Northcote Street, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to incite prostitution, supplying drugs to a victim.
- Abdulhamid Minoyee, 33, of Gainsborough Grove, convicted of rape, sexual assault, supply of drugs.
- Carolann Gallon, 22, of Hareside Court, pleaded guilty to three counts of trafficking.
- Monjour Choudhury, 33, of Phillip Place, convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, supplying drugs to a victim.
- Prabhat Nelli, 33, of Sidney Grove, convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, supplying drugs to a victim.
- Eisa Mousavi, 41, of Todds Nook, convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, rape, supplying drugs to a victim.
- Taherul Alam, 32, of Normanton Terrace, convicted of conspiracy to incite prostitution, supplying drugs to a victim, attempted sexual assault.
- Nadeem Aslam, 43, of Belle Grove West, convicted of supplying drugs to victims.
- Redwan Siddquee, 32, of West Road, pleaded guilty to supply or offering to supply a class B drug. Jailed for 16 months.
The British Labour politician Sarah Champion claimed regarding media news about this and previous trials, that there is a need to “acknowledge” that in all of the towns where similar cases have occurred “the majority of the perpetrators have been British Pakistani”. She said: “We have got now, hundreds of Pakistani men who have been convicted of this crime, why are we not commissioning research to see what is going on and how we need to change what is going on. (…) I genuinely think that it’s because more people are afraid to be called a racist than they are afraid to be wrong about calling out child abuse.”
The facilitator of this asian sex gang who found young white girls for them to sexually exploit told police they deserved it. Carolann Gallon, 22, the only woman convicted as part of the gang, trafficked girls as young as 13-years-old across the north of England and was jailed for six years and three months.
The mother-of-two once took a young girl to a flat where was forced alcohol and drugs and only woke up while she was being raped, Newcastle Crown Court heard. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described how Abdulhamid Minoyee, 34, abused her and then “grinned” after the violent sex attack After Gallon’s arrest she said the abuse the girls’ were given was “self-inflicted” and insisted they weren’t children despite some being under 16.
A gang who groomed and raped a 13-year-old girl, using threats to kill and kidnap, have been handed jail terms. The four attackers were aged between 15 and 21 when they abused the victim between August 2018 and April 2019, Newcastle Crown Court heard. The girl said they "tortured" her, making childhood a "living nightmare". Brothers Omar and Mohamed Badreddin and Huzaefa Aleboud were found guilty of multiple rapes. Hamoud Al Soaimi was found guilty of sexual assault. The men, the first three of whom must sign the sexual offenders' register for life and Al Soaimi for 10 years, received the following sentences:
- Omar Badreddin, 26, for five counts of rape, jailed for 18 years.
- Mohamed Badreddin, 23, for six counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration, jailed for 13 years.
- Huzaefa Aleboud, 23, for assault by penetration, two counts of rape and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, jailed for five and a half years.
- Hamoud Al Soaimi, 21, for three counts of sexual assault and one assault by penetration, jailed for two years suspended for two years with 180 hours unpaid work.
Judge Amanda Rippon said the girl was already "extremely vulnerable" when she met the "far more sophisticated" males in Newcastle. She was repeatedly abused in the castle keep in Newcastle city centre and behind a burger restaurant after being "groomed" with alcohol and cigarettes, the court heard. Mohamed Badreddin, then aged 17, was "aggressive and rough" with her and threatened that his brother Omar, then aged 20, would "hurt her if she didn't do stuff with him", prosecutor Anne Richardson said.
The girl was also raped at her own home with the brothers, who moved to the UK as refugees from the war in Syria, telling her she would be killed or taken to another country, Ms Richardson said. Ms Richardson said Aleboud, then aged 17 and also a refugee from Syria, "badgered" the girl to have sexual contact with him by saying she had "let" the Badreddin brothers do it, with there then being "ongoing and regular" rapes. Al Soaimi, who was 15 at the time and from Kuwait, was heard by a passing witness saying it was his "turn" with the girl after she had been raped.
In a statement read to the court, the 13-year-old victim, now aged 19, said: "My childhood turned into what I can only describe as a living nightmare." She said she dropped out of school and turned to drugs and self-harming to "cope" with the trauma, adding her family had also been devastated by what happened. The girl said she was "petrified" of the men who had "tortured" her and "hurt [her] in so many ways", adding the experience and impact had been "horrific".
Judge Rippon said the Badreddin brothers, of Middle Garth in Newcastle, led the group and "quickly identified" the girl could be "manipulated" and "groomed". She said they treated her like a "toy" and found it "entertaining", exploiting her and using her for sex. "Even when she begged you to treat her more kindly and told you truthfully she was harming herself and could not cope, you made fun of her," Judge Rippon told the brothers.
Telford
The Telford child sexual exploitation scandal is an ongoing scandal in the United Kingdom. Originally, a group of men were convicted of grooming local children for sex between 2007 and 2009 in Telford in the English county of Shropshire.
While media reports had suggested 100 or more girls had been affected and around 200 perpetrators were suspected, the Sunday Mirror reported in March 2018 that up to 1,000 girls may have been abused, with some even murdered, in incidents dating back to the 1970s. The gang is now assumed to have been operating over a 40 year period.
2012 convictions
- Ahdel Ali 25 “one charge of rape, 11 charges of sexual activity with a child, three charges of controlling child prostitution, one of inciting child prostitution, a charge of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and meeting a child after grooming” 18 years.
- Mubarek “Max” Ali 29 “four charges of controlling child prostitution, two of trafficking in the UK for sexual exploitation and a charge of causing child prostitution” 14 years.
- Mohammed Islam Choudhrey54 “paying for sex with a Telford schoolgirl” 2 years 6 months.
- Mohammed Ali Sultan 26 “having sex with two teenage girls, one of whom was 13 years old” 7 years.
- Mohammed Younis 61 “allowing his flat to be used as a brothel by allowing a man to have sex with a girl who was being controlled as a prostitute” 2 years 6 months.
- Mahroof Khan 35 “having sex with a 15-year-old girl” 2 years 6 months.
- Tanveer Ahmed 40 “controlling a child prostitute” 2 years 6 months.
- Shafiq Younas 35 Indecent assault 4 years 6 months.
2019 convictions
- Amjad Hussain 38 Indecent assault 4 years 6 months.
- Mohammad Rizwan 37 Indecent assault 5 years 6 months.
- Mohammed Ali Sultan 33 Rape and three counts of indecent assault Eight years with an extended licence of two years.
2020 convictions
A fourth man from Telford has been convicted of sexually abusing a vulnerable young girl who was "passed around like a piece of meat". Three defendants were on Tuesday found guilty of abusing the girl, who said she was forced to perform sex acts in a churchyard and was raped above a shop. The offences took place in the Telford area some time between 2000 and 2003, which prosecutors opening the case started when the girl was 12 years old.
The victim said she was assaulted by other as-yet unidentified males, with the abuse continuing until she was in her mid-teens. Opening the trial, Michelle Heeley QC had said: "This case involves the sexual exploitation of a young girl, a girl passed around like a piece of meat for the sexual gratification of several young men, some of whom are in the dock."
In a series of trials stretching over two years and concluding in May 2013, seven men were convicted of sexual offences against four girls aged 13 to 16. The offences included rape, controlling child prostitution, causing child prostitution, and trafficking for prostitution.
In 2018, investigations by the Sunday Mirror alleged that the extent of the Telford grooming gang was far more vast than had previously been believed, with claims of up to 1,000 girls, most of them white, having been victims of trafficking, drugging, beating, rape and even murder. Similar with other grooming gang cases, it was alleged that the authorities failed to keep details of abusers from Asian communities for fear of being seen as racist, with police having known about gang activities since the early 1980s.
As many as 1,000 children are feared to have been drugged and abused by perverts in Telford, Shrops, since the 1980s — but their hell went on for decades as authorities repeatedly failed to stamp out a network of paedophiles in the town. The number of victims estimated by child abuse experts means there could have been more per head of population than in the scandals that rocked Rochdale and Rotherham in recent years. Social workers were said to have known about the offending as far back as the 1990s, but it took cops a decade to launch a probe. And it is claimed files show council staff regarded children who were abused and trafficked as prostitutes rather than victims.
Vulnerable Lucy Lowe was 16 when abuser Azhar Ali Mehmood, 26, set fire to her house, killing her, her mum Eileen and sister Sarah, 17, in 2000. The taxi driver first targeted her in 1997. She was 14 when she gave birth to his daughter. He was jailed for killing the teen, along with her mum Eileen and her sister Sarah, 17 – but was never arrested or charged over sex abuse. Another victim, who was drugged and gang-raped, said Lucy's killing was a warning to others who might speak out.
Telford's Conservative MP, Lucy Allan, has previously called for a Rotherham-style inquiry into the allegations and called the latest reports 'extremely serious and shocking'. There must now be an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Telford so that our community can have absolute confidence in the authorities,' she told the paper.
Girls like Becky were treated like criminals. I was crying out for help but it felt like I had nowhere to turn. If Becky's abuse had been properly investigated by the authorities more girls could have been saved from going through this hell.Victims (Beckys) mother Torron Watson.
Dino Nocivelli, a specialist child abuse solicitor, said: 'These children were treated as sexual commodities by men who inflicted despicable acts of abuse. The survivors deserve an inquiry. 'They need to know how abuse took place for so long and why so many perpetrators have never been brought to justice.'.
Telford child abuse gang ringleader freed
Sex gang leader Ahdel Ali has been released from prison after serving eight years of a 26-year sentence. He was one of two ringleaders of a sexual grooming gang that preyed on girls as young as 13 in Telford, resulting in the Operation Chalice investigation and an independent child sexual exploitation inquiry. MP Lucy Allan confirmed that Ali, now aged 32, was released on Wednesday, 16th December 2020.
Since 2020 dozens of probes into child sex exploitation in Telford have collapsed – with NO convictions. Over the past decade 37 investigations into child sex crimes involving more than one alleged attacker failed to bring anyone to justice. The new figures sparked outrage just days after it emerged predator Ahdel Ali, 33, was released halfway through an 18-year jail term. Victims – who gave police at least 267 names – fear some of the worst sexual offenders are still at large in the Shropshire town.
One, whose case collapsed after she gave police the names of 68 men, told the Sunday Mirror: “It’s really wrong. These men are getting away with it and their abuse ruins lives.” Many of her claims were backed up by diary entries but the Crown Prosecution Service said there was no realistic prospect of a conviction. Another victim added: “The system is stacked against us. So many people report abuse but nothing happens and when perpetrators do get jailed they get out early. It’s a slap in the face. Sex offenders should be made to serve their full sentence.”.
Police REFUSED to act as Shahzad Khan pimped out under-age white girl earning £2k a night
POLICE were tipped off about Muslim Groomer Shahzad “Keith” Khan, as far back as 1996 but he was allowed to run his “Rape House” for years -The Sunday Mirror reports. He even picked up one sex slave outside a local police station, on multiple occasions. They missed the chance to nail him and a string of other men went begging in 2013 when a police case collapsed. Khan was the head of a family of abusers who subjected dozens of youngsters to a terrifying ordeal.
He operated his child sex ring from an empty ex-council property and sold one girl for sex at up to £2,000 a night. The girl said of her ordeal at Khan’s hands: “I felt numb, dead inside.” Yet Khan operated under the noses of authorities in the area and was even featured in his local paper as a pillar of the community. He was described as a “generous” bird lover who fed pigeons to help him get over a cancer ordeal. Our investigators discovered Khan was reported to police over sex abuse fears in the mid-1990s. Officers were tipped off by a female neighbour who believed he was selling young girls in the town for sex. She had seen him take a 12-year-old girl from a children’s home into a car.
The neighbour said: “I told a police officer at Donnington Police Station what Khan was doing. I even told them that he’d offered my brother sex with an underage girl. “Nothing was done. They told me they couldn’t prosecute him as they’d never have enough evidence. I got the feeling they were brushing me off.” He was later reported to officers by a child sex victim whose police case files have been seen by our team. But no charges were brought against Khan. Victims who were forced to provide sex at Khan’s drab terraced property dubbed it “The Rape House”.
According to police statements and the victim’s testimony, Khan took the virginity of one 14-year-old girl and then made up to £2,000 a night selling her for sex with scores of men. She was even sexually abused within hours of having an abortion. The victim told us how she first fell into Khan’s clutches. She said: “I was already being abused and I didn’t understand what was happening to me. No one talked about grooming back then, or showed us how to spot the signs. “I first met Keith in the street and he told me because I had a reputation anyway I might as well get paid for it. “He told me about all of these older girls I knew from school and how they were doing it too and making loads of money.”
It was the beginning of a three-year ordeal which left the young victim suicidal and broken. She described being forced to have sex with multiple men in restaurants, houses and fast food joints and even being trafficked to Birmingham for more abuse. The girl, now in her 30s, said: “One night, I was taken to a takeaway and forced to have sex with nine men in a row. I just switched off. “As one man raped me, the next one would be queueing up on the stairs. “The next day, I went to school like nothing had happened.” She told how Khan would loiter in betting shops looking for men who had won cash before offering his teenage sex slave to them for money.
He charged “clients” up to £200 for sex but, after taking his cut and charging expenses like petrol, would leave his victim with £30. Khan would punish her if the men did not finish quickly while he waited outside in his black Mercedes. Eventually, when she was 18, the girl escaped to Birmingham after she overdosed in an unsuccessful suicide bid. Another victim we spoke to said she was lured by Khan when she developed a heroin problem after being abused by other Pakistani men. “I come from a respectable family and they have good jobs but soon I was going missing and committing petty crimes because I’d become caught up in this sick world. It nearly tore my mum apart. “My family still hasn’t really recovered,” she added. The woman, also now in her 30s, eventually got clean and escaped but is still haunted by the memories of her abuse.
Both victims describe a den of horrors where Khan’s teenage son Shahmeel would watch porn and perform a sex act in the living room in front of his victims. Shahmeel was later jailed for raping an A-level student and for armed robbery. Another victim we spoke to was lured into the Khan family circle by nephew Mohammed Ali Sultan. She later discovered Sultan had sold her phone number to other men in Telford. She said: “I was getting calls at all hours of the day from older men. Some could barely speak English, but they knew my name and where to find me.” Sultan was jailed for seven years in 2012 after admitting abusing two girls, one just 13. He was locked up for another six years in 2015 when he was convicted of two rapes and one attempted rape. Khan died in 2015 aged 61 without ever having faced justice over the sex abuse ring.
Bolton
A SERVING officer with Greater Manchester Police in Tameside has been jailed for two years for sexually assaulting a young girl. Farooq Ahmed targeted the girl when she was still at primary school by touching her private parts on three occasions. Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard on the first occasion the girl woke up to discover her clothing had been removed. On the next two occasions he touched and licked her private parts and on the last occasion filmed himself doing so but quickly deleted it. He also made sure her hand was touching his genitalia.
Ahemd admitted three counts of sexual assault and one of making an indecent image of a child in December, and appeared in court yesterday (January 5th 2021) to be sentenced. Imposing a sentence, Judge Clarke said: “My first thoughts are with the young girl, who was still at primary school when she suffered sexual abuse.” He jailed the 37-year-old for two years and made him subject to the sex offenders’ register and imposed a sexual harm prevention order for five years. Impact statement from the mother of the young girl, which showed the devastating impact of the incidents on her and her daughter. It said when she found out what had happened, “her world fell apart”
Halifax
The Halifax child sex abuse ring was a group of men who committed serious sexual offences against under-aged girls in the English town of Halifax and city of Bradford, West Yorkshire. It was the largest child sexual exploitation investigation in the United Kingdom. In 2016, the perpetrators were found guilty of rape and other crimes in several trials at Leeds Crown Court. In total, as many as a hundred men may have been involved in child abuse. Twenty-five suspects were charged by West Yorkshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service and 18 of these were found guilty, totalling over 175 years of prison time.
Those found guilty (all of them Muslim Asian men) in June 2016 and their sentences were as follows:
- Hedar Ali, 36, of Bradford, 25 years for rape and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- Haider Ali, 41, of Halifax, 20 years for sexual activity with a child and causing a person to engage in sexual activity.
- Khalid Zaman, 38, of Bradford, 17 and a half years for rape and supplying class B drugs.
- Mohammed Ramzan, 35, of Bradford, 15 years for rape.
- Haaris Ahmed, 32, of Halifax, 12 and a half years for sexual activity with a child and supplying class B drugs.
- Tahir Mahmood, 43, of Halifax, 11 years for sexual activity with a child and sexual assault.
- Taukeer Butt, 31, of Halifax, 10 years for sexual activity with a child.
- Amaar Ali Ditta, 27, of Halifax, nine years for sexual activity with a child.
- Azeem Subhani, 25, of Halifax, nine years for sexual activity with a child.
- Talib Saddiq, 31, of Halifax, eight years for sexual activity with a child.
- Sikander Malik, 31, of Halifax, seven years for sexual activity with a child.
- Mohammed Ali Ahmed, 43, of Halifax, six and a half years for sexual activity with a child.
- Aftab Hussain, 37, of Halifax, six years for sexual activity with a child.
- Mansoor Akhtar, 25, of Huddersfield, six years for sexual activity with a child and supplying Class B drugs.
- Sikander Ishaq, 31, of Halifax, six years for sexual activity with a child.
- Aesan Pervez, 27, from Halifax, four years. Convicted by a jury after a trial at Leeds Crown Court on one charge of sexual assault on the girl.
- Furqaan Ghafar, 31, from Derby, who was jailed for five years three months after he admitted one charge of sexual activity with a child.
The principal victim was identified as “Jeanette” in government reports. The prosecution said that the girl, who was 13 when the abuse began, came from a troubled family background and was “lonely [and] needy”. The gang exploited her desire for friendship and love, deliberately giving her drink and drugs to turn her into an addict and make her more easily controlled. In interviews with the police, she described being raped and abused in many locations, including private homes in Halifax, Bradford and Manchester, and hotels in Bradford, Leeds, and London. The abuse took place between 2006 and 2011.
“Jeanette” believed that she was abused by at least a hundred men, often more than once a day, and once by nineteen men over a short time. She was infected with gonorrhoea as a result of the abuse and suffered permanent psychological harm. Although she knew many of the men only by their nicknames, the police were able to identify them using CCTV footage from the hotels in which she was abused and by analysing male DNA in stains found on her clothing. Police said it was the largest child sexual exploitation investigation in the country — “bigger than high-profile cases in Rochdale and Rotherham.”.
20/2/2020 - A trial relating to the alleged non-recent sexual exploitation of children in Halifax has been delayed by a year. Armed Police Officer Amjad Hussain, also known as Amjad Ditta, is among 16 men charged in relation to the alleged abuse of three teenage girls in Halifax between 2006 and 2009.
The charges include rape, supplying drugs, trafficking, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and making threats to kill. Ditta, 35, is a police constable based within West Yorkshire Police's protective services team but he is currently suspended from duty. He is accused of sexually touching one of the girls at a time when he was a serving police officer.
His co-accused are:
- Mohammed Vaqaas Abbas, 30, who denies three counts of rape and three of supplying a class C drug.
- Nadeem Adalat, 34, who has pleaded not guilty to four charges of rape and four of supply of a class C drug.
- Sajid Adalat, 44, who denies rape. Case number: T20207003.
- Waseem Adalat, 33, who denies two counts of rape, as well as single counts of trafficking, supply of a class C drug and common assault. Case number: T20207003.
- Christopher John Eastwood, 45, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of supply of a class C drug. Case number: T20207003.
- Mahtab Islam, 46, who denies six counts of rape, three of supplying a class A drug, three of supplying a class C drug, two of sexual assault and one of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Case number: T20207003.
- Mohammed Rizwan Iqbal, 34, who denies a charge of rape. Case number: T20207003.
- Ishtiaq Latif, 32, who has pleaded not guilty to sexual activity with a child.
- Asad Mahmood, 33, who denies two counts of rape, one of trafficking and one of common assault. Case number: T20207003.
- Younis Mohammed, 34, who has pleaded not guilty to rape and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
- Shahzad Nowaz, 40, who has denied rape, supply of a class C drug and making threats to kill.
- Shazad Nazir, 44, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and two of supply of a class C drug.
- Sohail Zafar, 36, who has denied rape and supplying a class C drug.
- Nadeem Nassir, 39, who faces charges of rape, supplying a class C drug and making threats to kill.
- Khalifa Mughal, 36, who faces six counts of rape, as well as single counts of supply of a class C drug, supply of a class A drug and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Case number: T20207003.
The men were due to go on trial at Bradford Crown Court on September 14 this 2021. However, the trial did not go ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 15 other defendants are on bail with conditions, including to live and sleep at their home address and inform police of any plans to travel outside the UK.
Bradford
Twenty-seven people have been arrested in connection with online child sexual exploitation in Bradford. The boys and men, aged 16 to 57, were questioned after being arrested at addresses across the city. More than 60 devices were seized and safeguarding measures put in place for 26 children, police said. Warrants were executed after claims that people had been contacting children online and were in possession of indecent images of children. The 27 people were questioned and released under investigation or bailed while further inquiries take place, West Yorkshire Police said. Police said parents and carers must monitor their children's devices and report concerns during the coronavirus lockdown.
Nine men were given prison sentences of up to 20 years for the depraved abuse of two young girls. Their crimes took place in the Bradford and Kirklees districts between 2008 and 2009, although the men were only charged after an investigation was launched five years later in 2014 when the brave victims came forward. They were convicted by a jury of a total of 21 charges, including rape and sexual assault.
- Basharat Khaliq, 38, of Glaisdale Court, Allerton, was found guilty of five counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration. He was jailed for 20 years.
- Saeed Akhtar, 55, of Back Girlington Road, Bradford, was found guilty of one charge of rape and two charges of causing or inciting child prostitution. He was sentenced to 20 years.
- Kieran Harris, 28, of Fir Parade, Ravensthorpe, was found guilty of two counts of rape and jailed for 17 years.
- Naveed Akhtar, 43, of Newport Place, Bradford, was found guilty of two counts of rape. He was jailed for 17 years.
- Parvaze Ahmed, 36, of Farcliffe Road, Bradford, was found guilty of three charges of rape. He was sentenced to 17 years.
- Mohammed Usman, 31, of Quaker Street, Bradford, was found guilty of two counts of rape. He was jailed for 17 years.
- Izar Hussain, 32, of St Leonards Road, Bradford, was found guilty of rape. He was jailed for 16 years.
- Fahim Iqbal, 28, of Quarry Road, was jailed for seven years for aiding and abetting one of Harris' rapes.
- Zeeshan Ali, 32, of Durham Terrace, Bradford, was found guilty of sexual assault. He was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment.
In 2014 five men, including four from Bradford, have been jailed for a total of more than 28 years for trafficking a 13-year-old girl for sex. During the trial at Sheffield Crown Court, the jury heard the offences took place in Bradford over a period of eight days in August 2013.
The girl, who had just turned 13, was moved to several different addresses by the group, including a city centre hotel where she was raped by Rehman before she was abandoned and found by police in the centre of Bradford.
- Shakeal Rehman, 26, of Haworth Road, Bradford, was found guilty of rape and trafficking the girl and was jailed for 12 years.
- Yaseen Amini, 37, of Broadway, Bradford was found guilty of sexual activity with a child and trafficking and was sentenced to five-and-a-half years.
- Mohammed Shapal, 22, of Broadway, Bradford (co-accused of Amini) was found guilty of sexual activity with a child and traffickingand was sentenced to four years.
- Usman Ali, 21, of St Mary’s Road, Manningham, was found guilty of sexual activity with a child, the judge sentenced him to three years in prison.
- Bekir Rasheed, 36, of Ulverston Road, Woodseats, Sheffield, was found guilty of trafficking and jailed for four years.
After the case, Detective Inspector Helen Tate, who led the investigation, described the offences as vile and criticised the men for putting the girl through the ordeal of a trial by deny the charges against them. "What happened to the victim has had a huge and profound impact on her life and the lives of her family," said Det Insp Tate. “I cannot put into words what this child experienced at the hands of these men".
Seven men are to appear in court (30th September 2022) after being charged with non recent child sex offences in Bradford. All charges relate to incidents on one female victim which are alleged to have occurred in the Bradford area between 2007 and 2011.
- Pasquale Massimo, 40 is charged with rape and rape of a child aged 13-15.
- Khazer Hussain 41 from Oldham is charged with Conspiracy to rape and false imprisonment.
- Syed Shabir 39 of Oldham is charged with Conspiracy to rape and false imprisonment.
- Abbas Hussain, 41 is charged with multiple rapes and arranging and facilitating the prostitution of a child aged 13 – 17.
- Mussadaq Hussain 37 is charged with rape.
- Amjad Hussain 36, of Keighley is charged with multiple rapes and arranging and facilitating the prostitution of a child aged 13-17.
- Syed Hassan Basharat 33 of Keighley is charged with multiple rapes.
Six men are to appear in court (22nd September 2022) after being charged with non recent child sex offences in Bradford. All charges relate to incidents on one female victim which are alleged to have occurred in the Bradford area between 2007 and 2011.
- Hannan Miah 37, of Manchester is charged with multiple rapes.
- Burhan Uddin Ali, 36, is charged with multiple rapes and conspiracy to rape.
- Abdul Basith 40, is charged with multiple rapes and conspiracy to rape.
- Asif Budhia 39, is charged with multiple rapes.
- Shazad Khadam 38, is charged with multiple rapes.
- Ibrahim Ali, 35, is charged with engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 13 – 15 years.
Five men are to appear in court (20th September 2022) after being charged with non recent child sex offences in Bradford. All charges relate to incidents on one female victim which are alleged to have occurred in the Bradford area between 2007 and 2011.
- Ashfaq Ahmed, 34 from Halifax is charged with multiple rapes and arrange/facilitate the prostitution of a child aged 13-17.
- Aftab Ahmed, 33, is charged with multiple rapes.
- Yousaf Bhatti, 36, is charged with rape and arrange/facilitate the prostitution of a child aged 13-17.
- Anwar Aziz, 32, is charged with rape and arrange/facilitate the prostitution of a child aged 13-17.
- Shahinul Haq, 35 is charged with rape and arrange/facilitate the prostitution of a child aged 13-17.
14th September 2022 five men will appear in court. All from Bradford except where stated
- Jameel Ahmed, 32 is charged with rape and conspiracy to rape.
- Brian Davis, 53 is charged with rape and conspiracy to rape
- Khalid Parvez, 63 from Leeds is charged with arranging and facilitating the prostitution of a child aged 13 – 17.
- Mohammed Nadeem Ali, 38 is charged with multiple rapes.
- Muhammad Yasir, 36 is charged with rape.
It's worth remembering that 98.7% of rape cases never reach court, often due to insufficient evidence. It takes a lot for charges to be filed.
Calderdale
Twenty men found guilty of the 'abhorrent' rape and abuse of girls as young as 12 in West Yorkshire have been given 219 years combined jail time. The crimes took place between 2001 and 2010 in Calderdale and led to multiple complex investigations being conducted into a number of separate allegations. Reporting restrictions have up to now meant details of the enquiries could not be disclosed but these have since been lifted meaning the outcomes can be shared. This comes as an investigation was launched in 2016 into allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation of two girls between 2006 and 2009 when the girls were aged between 13 and 16. A separate enquiry then commenced in the same year following reports of repeated sexual abuse of a vulnerable young girl between 2002 and 2006, starting when she was 13 years old. And a third began in 2018 into the sexual abuse of a girl in the Calderdale area between 2001 and 2002. The girl was aged between 12 and 13 at the time of offending.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Claire Smith of Calderdale District Police, said: 'Firstly, I want to acknowledge the sheer courage of the victims and survivors in each of these investigations; not only for having the bravery to come forward initially but also for enduring the criminal justice system and the weight of criminal trials and reporting restrictions in place. 'Due to legal restrictions, it has not been possible to publicise these outcomes until now.
- Shahzad Nowaz, 45, of Halifax, found guilty of rape and making threats to kill, sentenced to a total of 11 years.
- Nadeem Nassir, 44, of Halifax, found guilty of rape and making threats to kill, sentenced to a total of 11 years.
- Sajid Adalat, 48, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to a total of seven years.
- Sohail Zaffer, 41, of Halifax, pled guilty to rape and supply of a class C drug, sentenced to a total of 42 months.
- Shazad Nazir, 49, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to a total of 11 years.
- Nadeem Adalat, 39, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to 14 years. He appealed the sentence, increased to a total of 16 years.
- Asad Mahmood, 38, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to a total of 13 years.
- Mohammed Rizwan Iqbal, 39, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to a total of nine years.
- Vaseem Adalat, 38, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to 12 years, following an appeal was increased to a total of 14 years and 6 months.
- Amir Shaban, 48, of Halifax, was found guilty of rape, sentenced to 10 years.
- Malik Quadeer, 67, of Halifax, found guilty of five counts of rape, sentenced to 22 years.
- Mohammed Ziarab, 55, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to 10 years.
- Imran Raja Yasin, 45, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to 10 years.
- Kamran Amin, 48, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to 10 years.
- Mohammed Akhtar, 54, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to 11 years. Mr Akhtar died while serving his sentence.
- Saquab Hussain, 46, of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to seven years and 6 months.
- Haroon Sadiq, 40, of Halifax, found guilty of two counts of rape, sentenced to 10 years.
- Shafiq Ali Rafiq, 44, of Dewsbury, found guilty of two counts of rape, sentenced to 12 years.
- Sarfraz Rabnawaz, 39, of Bradford, found guilty of two counts of rape, sentenced to 9 years.
- Craig Mitchell, 55 of Halifax, found guilty of rape, sentenced to 12 years.
I welcome the sentences handed to these offenders for the abhorrent abuse these young girls were subjected to, which was heard by the jurors in each trial over the last few years. Among the lengthiest sentences was that handed to Malik Quadeer, 67, who was found guilty of five counts of rape and jailed for 22 years. Among the shortest was one given to Sajid Adalat, 48, who was told he must spend seven years behind bars after being found guilty of rape.
Keighley
The Keighley child sex abuse ring was a group of twelve men who committed serious sexual offences against two under-aged girls in the English town of Keighley and city of Bradford, West Yorkshire. In December 2015, they were found guilty of rape and other forms of sexual abuse by a unanimous jury verdict at Bradford Crown Court. They were sentenced in February 2016 to a total of 130 years in jail. The main victim, who had been targeted by ten of the men, was aged between 13 and 14 at the time of the attacks between 2011 and 2012. The alleged ringleader of the gang was named as local drug-dealer Ahmed Al-Arif Choudhury (also spelled Choudry), who was not among those found guilty in court and is believed to have fled abroad.
Two of the men who abused Girl N between 2004 and 2011. Akram had his prison sentence increased from 17 years to 22 years and his friend Khalid was locked up for five years. The pair's sentencing marked the end of the first phase of West Yorkshire Police's Operation Tendersea - a long-running and ongoing investigation into child sexual exploitation. Girl N was groomed at the age of 11 and passed around members of the gang, who even went so far as to abduct her from a care home.
The main victim was groomed with gifts and apparent displays of affection before being coerced into abusive sexual relationships. She was raped in various locations in Keighley, including parks, churchyards, and an underground car-park. The rapists had designated part of the car-park “X's corner” with graffiti and added their own names. During one sustained rape, she was attacked by five men in succession. In an interview with police, she said that Choudhury had employed her as a drugs-courier and that when she tried to stop working for him, he called her a “little white slag” and a “little white bastard”. He then physically restrained her and raped her, according to her testimony. One of those found guilty, a 63-year-old taxi driver called Mohammed Akram, had sex with one of the victims in his taxi.
- Khalid Raja Mahmood, 34, of Keighley: received a 17-year extended sentence for two charges of rape and three charges of sexual activity with a child.
- Tauqeer Hussain, 23, of Keighley: 18 years for two counts of rape against the first victim and one rape against another teenage girl.
- Yasser Kabir, 25, of Keighley: 20 years for three counts of rape against the first victim and four charges of rape, two charges of sexual assault, two charges of assault by penetration and four charges of causing a child to engage in sexual activity against two young girls.
- Sufyan Ziarab, 23, of Keighley: 15 years for two counts of rape.
- Bilal Ziarab, 21, of Bradford: 12 years for two counts of rape.
- Israr Ali, 19, of Keighley: three-and-half-years in a young offenders’ institution for one count of rape.
- Nasir Khan, 24, of Keighley: 13 years for one count of rape.
- Saqib Younis, 29, of Keighley: 13 years for one count of rape.
- Hussain Sardar, 19, of Keighley: six years in a young offenders’ institution for one count of rape.
- Zain Ali, 20, of Keighley: eight years in a young offenders’ institution for one count of rape.
- Faisal Khan, 27, of Keighley: 13 years for one count of rape.
- Mohammed Akram, 63, of Keighley: five years for one count of sexual activity with a child.
Kris Hopkins, Conservative MP for Keighley, condemned what he called the “sick model of organised groups of Asian men grooming young white girls” and claimed that more women were still suffering abuse in the same way. In a statement issued by his office, he said the convictions were vindication of controversial comments he had made in parliament in 2012, when he said that organised groups of Asian men were raping white girls. He claimed to have been criticized for these claims.
Some defendants had previous convictions for drug-dealing, dangerous driving, assault, public disorder, stealing and handling stolen goods. Arif Chowdhury, the alleged ringleader of the gang, is believed to have travelled to Bangladesh to escape prosecution following his arrest and release on bail. He had begun pimping the girl in Keighley when he was only 15 and was described in court as an evil and violent individual who had first employed the girl as a drugs-courier before subjecting her to repeated rapes, beatings and racial abuse.
In Febuary a grooming gang that systematically raped a 14-year-old girl and 'robbed her of her childhood' in West Yorkshire was jailed. The woman was raped by multiple men in the Keighley area of West Yorkshire over a period between 2008 and 2009, when she was aged between 14 and 16. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said eight men were found guilty of 23 counts of rape and two of conspiracy to rape in two separate trials at Bradford Crown Court last year. The CPS said two were sentenced last year and four more were jailed on Friday.
Eight men were found guilty of 23 counts of rape and two of conspiracy to rape:
- Nazir Khan, 30, of Keighley, got 12 years and an extended eight-year licence period.
- Kamran Hussain, 29, of Keighley, got five year sentence.
- Hassan Basharat, 32, of Keighley, was given 12 years in jail.
- Omar Safdar, 30, of Oldham, was also given a 12 year sentence.
- Barber Hussain, 36, of Bradford, was sentenced to 13 years.
- Imran Sabir, 42, of Keighley was given a 12 year sentence.
Two others are yet to be sentenced.
Prosecutors said the girl was driven to parks, flats and isolated places where she was raped by the men. In a statement issued through West Yorkshire Police on Friday, the woman said:
Ed Hulbert, from the CPS, said:
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Weekes said: 'I would like to take this opportunity to praise the victim for coming forward and reporting these offences to the police, for her patience whilst the criminal investigation has been ongoing and her courage in giving evidence in court. 'The abuse she endured robbed her of her childhood and I hope seeing all of these men sent to prison today for these horrendous offences she was subjected to will allow her to start to look forward to the future.'
Huddersfield
The Huddersfield grooming gang was a group of men who were convicted of sexual offences against girls in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. It was the largest gang ever convicted for sex abuse in the United Kingdom. The offences took place between 2004 and 2011, and the men were charged following the Operation Tendersea inquiry by the police.
The trials began in April 2017 and 20 men were convicted in 2018 in three separate trials. Since then, further men have been convicted in a series of trials, bringing the total number of men convicted to 35 by April 2020 for a total of 380 years. A report released in June 2019 indicated that 15 of the 22 females involved were known to children's services. Although there was “sufficient evidence” that two girls were being sexually exploited, one as early as 2007, no action was taken by the Kirklees Children's services.
- Amere Singh Dhaliwal 35 Life with a minimum term of 18 years.
- Irfan Ahmed aged 34; conivcted and imprisoned for 8 years.
- Zahid Hassan aged 29; conivcted and imprisoned for 18 years.
- Mohammed Kammer aged 34; conivcted and imprisoned for 16 years.
- Mohammed Rizwan Aslam aged 31; conivcted and imprisoned for 15 years.
- Adbul Rehman aged 31; conivcted and imprisoned for 16 years.
- Raj Singh Barsran aged 34; conivcted and imprisoned for 17 years.
- Nahman Mohammed aged 32; conivcted and imprisoned for 15 years.
- Mansoor Akhtar aged 27; conivcted and imprisoned for 8 years.
- Wiqas Mahmud aged 8; conivcted and imprisoned for 15 years.
- Nasarat Hussain aged 30; conivcted and imprisoned for 17 years.
- Sajid Hussain aged 33; conivcted and imprisoned for 17 years.
- Mohammed Irfraz aged 30; conivcted and imprisoned for 6 years.
- Faisal Nadeem aged 32; conivcted and imprisoned for 12 years.
- Mohammed Azeem aged 33; conivcted and imprisoned for 18 years.
- Manzoor Hassan aged 38; conivcted and imprisoned for 5 years.
- Mohammed Akram aged 33; conivcted and imprisoned for 22 years (increased from 17 years).
- Niaz Ahmed aged 54; conivcted and imprisoned for 5 years.
- Asif Bashir aged 33; conivcted and imprisoned for 11 years.
- Mohammed Imran Ibrar aged 34; conivcted and imprisoned for 3 years.
- Usman Khalid aged 31; conivcted and imprisoned for 5 years.
- Umar Zaman aged 31; conivcted and imprisoned for 8 years.
- Samuel Fikru aged 32; conivcted and imprisoned for 8 years.
- Banaris Hussain aged 36; conivcted and imprisoned for 10 years.
- Banaras Hussain aged 39; conivcted and imprisoned for 9 years 6 months
- Usman Ali aged 34; conivcted and imprisoned for 8 years.
- Abdul Majid aged 35; conivcted and imprisoned for 11 years.
- Gul Riaz 43 aged; conivcted and imprisoned for 5 years.
- Manzoor Akhtar aged 31; conivcted and imprisoned for 4 years 6 months.
- Shaqeel Hussain aged 36; conivcted and imprisoned for 9 years (increased from 8 years).
- Unnamed Man aged 30; conivcted and imprisoned for 4 years.
- Unnamed Man aged 37; conivcted and imprisoned for 8 years.
- Unnamed Man aged 32; conivcted and imprisoned for 14 years.
- Unnamed Man aged 32; conivcted and imprisoned for 8 years.
- Unnamed Man aged 38; conivcted and imprisoned for 7 years.
The first 20 men convicted are all of Asian — mainly Pakistani — origin. Their ringleader was Amere Singh Dhaliwal, a British Indian, who converted to Sikhism in 2013. One of the grooming gang members, Sajid Hussain, fled during the trial and was sentenced in his absence. Two more men were sentenced in June 2019. Mohammed Akram was previously convicted and had his sentenced increased, whilst Usman Khalid was sentenced to five years.
20 men were jailed for a total of more than 250 years for abuse in Huddersfield.
A further five men were jailed in November 2019 under Operation Tendersea. Three of the men were not named for legal reasons whilst Umar Zaman fled to Pakistan and was sentenced in his absence. Seven more men were convicted in February 2020. A man was convicted in April 2020 along with another previously unnamed man, Shaqeel Hussai, who was sentenced to a further 12 months.
Report just in (Monday November 29, 2021) that Thirty nine men and three women have been charged with offences as part of a Kirklees Police operation into child sexual offending. The men and women, who are largely from the Kirklees area, have been charged with a variety of mainly sexual offences as part of an investigation into non-recent child sexual exploitation. The allegations against the defendants involve offences committed against six female victims, who were children at the time the alleged offending began. Those alleged offences occurred between 1995 and 2015, largely in the Dewsbury and Batley areas of Kirklees.
Those charged are:
- Donna Lynn (41) from Heckmondwike, charged with causing the prostitution of a girl under 16, allowing a premises to be used for unlawful sexual intercourse, procuring a female under 21, and controlling prostitution.
- Mohammed Yakub (64) from Dewsbury, charged with an offence of rape.
- Nasir Billimoria (68) from Batley, charged with an offence of rape, and procuring a female under 21.
- Yousuf Motala (69) from Dewsbury, charged with an offence of rape.
- Ebrahim Mamaniatt (52) from Batley, charged with an offence of rape.
- Liaquat Ali (65) from Batley, charged with an offence of rape.
- Hashim Sacha (53) from Batley, charged with an offence of rape.
- Nobhar Shah (69) from Batley, charged with two offences of rape and living on the earnings of prostitution.
- Ibrahim Khalifa (83) from Bradford, charged with an offence of rape.
- Manaf Hussain (47) from Heckmondwike charged with an offence of rape.
- Maria O’Rouke (42) from Batley charged with causing the prostitution of a girl under 16, allowing a premises to be used for unlawful sexual intercourse and controlling prostitution.
- Riaz Shaikh (57) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape and an offence of indecent assault.
- Amjid Rangzeb (43) from Batley charged with an offence of rape and an offence of false imprisonment.
- Liaquat Hussain Hanif (45) from Batley charged with an offence of rape.
- Shakeel Haq (44) from Birmingham, charged with an offence of rape and an offence of false imprisonment.
- Rafiq Patel (69) from Batley charged with an offence of rape.
- Mohammed Abbas (60) from Dewsbury, charged with an offence of rape.
- Shafaquat Afzal Hussain (45) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape.
- Tariq Azam (52) from Dewsbury charged with three offences of rape and three offences of indecent assault.
- Aurrangzeb Azam (50) from Dewsbury charged with three offences of rape, two offences of indecent assault and an offence of false imprisonment.
- Israr Hussain (46) from Dewsbury charged with three offences of rape, two offences of indecent assault and an offence of false imprisonment.
- Mohammed Sheikh (48) from Batley charged with an offence of rape and an offence of indecent assault.
- Mohammed Tariq (62) from Bradford charged with two offences of rape.
- Sajid Majid (48) from Mirfield charged with an offence of rape and an offence of indecent assault.
- Zulfiquar Ali (42) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape.
- Ansar Mahmood Qayum (44) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape and an offence of indecent assault.
- Mohammed Jabbar Qayum (40) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape.
- Shafiq Siddique (52) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape and an offence of false imprisonment.
- Mohammed Ishtiaq Hussain ( 47) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape.
- Abbas Kaji (52) from Batley charged with an offence of rape.
- Mohammed Farooq (52) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape.
- Tasawar Hussain (42) from Heckmondwike charged with an offence of rape.
- Mohammed Munir Shaffi (43) from Dewsbury charged with two offences of rape.
- Zaheed Ali Novsarka (53) from Batley charged with an offence of rape.
- Nassar Liaquat Khan (42) from Keighley charged with an offence of rape.
- Mohammed Riaz Khan (47) from Heckmondwike charged with an offence of rape.
- Mohammed Luqman Daji (44) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape.
- Mohammed Ramzan (64) from Dewsbury charged with an offence of rape.
- Janine Green (44) from Batley charged with encouraging prostitution, allowing premises to be used for unlawful sexual intercourse and controlling prostitution.
- Ali Shan Waheed (41) from Dewsbury charged with rape.
- Ismail Seedat (51) from Batley charged with indecent assault.
- Mohammed Yasin (48) from Batley charged with rape.
Update 2nd March 2022: A teenage girl was groomed and abused by up to 300 men in Yorkshire by the time she was 17. Leeds Crown Court heard her family contacted social services after she returned home, often under the influence of drinks and drugs, and dishevelled. During one incident she returned to her family home naked from the waist down. The court heard the girl was forced into sexual activity with the men who would prey on her. One terrifying incident saw a man hold a knife to her throat while he assaulted her.
Prosecutor Kate Batty told the court the girl's parents was told by social services on one occasion that "she must love it if she keeps going back.". One of the men that abused the girl was Nasarat Hussain. Hussain was 17 at the time he tried to rape the girl in a bathroom at a house in Moorbottom Road, Huddersfield. The house was regularly used by a grooming gang to abuse vulnerable teenage girls from the area. Hussain, who is now 33, was known to the girl as "nurse" and attempted to rape her in a bathroom.
Judge Marson jailed Hussain for a further two years and added that his victim was:
Ms Batty said the girl was "ragged about" and Hussain "pulled at her arms and head" before she told him she needed a glass of water. In a statement to the court the woman said the abuse she suffered as a teenager has led to her suffering depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. She has also been diagnosed with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Street Disorder) and bulimia.
FIVE men have been jailed for a combined total of 28 years after being convicted of non-recent child sexual abuse. Mohammed Kammer, Nahman Mohammed, Wiqas Mahmud, Mohammed Imran Ibrar, and Abdul Rehman had pleaded not guilty and stood trial in January and February 2023. The trial, which concluded at Leeds Crown Court on February 9, saw five men convicted for the second time after previously being jailed in earlier Operation Tendersea trials.
The sentences were:
- Abdul Rehman, 36, of Sheffield, was sentenced to three years, nine months after being convicted of two offences of engaging in or facilitating a child sex offence and supplying drugs.
- Mohammed Kammer, 38, of Huddersfield, was sentenced to a total of seven years, six months after being convicted of three rapes offences and a trafficking for sexual exploitation offence.
- Nahman Mohammed, 37, of Huddersfield, was sentenced to a total of seven years after being convicted of two rape offences and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- Wiqas Mahmud, 42, of Huddersfield, was sentenced to a total of six years, three months after being convicted of a rape offence.
- Mohammed Imran Ibrar, 38, of Huddersfield, was sentenced to a total of five years (minus 502 days) after being convicted of sexual assault and a rape offence. His sentence with time deducted was three years and six months.
Operation Tendersea has been a long-running West Yorkshire Police investigation. Trials for Operation Tendersea began in 2018 and have resulted in the conviction of 42 men, some of whom have been tried more than once during the court process. April‘s convictions mean a total of 505 years and six months in prison have now been handed down to those convicted during the court process.
Dewsbury
A gang of "devious and manipulative" men who raped, trafficked and groomed two teenage girls were jailed in September 2016. The four abused a 13 year old and a 15 year old at a flat in Dewsbury in 2014. sWest Yorkshire Police said the gang had preyed on "the most vulnerable people in our communities".
The prosecutions came after the 13-year-old victim told a school welfare officer she had been seriously sexually assaulted. She first met Chothia, a factory worker of Hirstlands Road, Batley, and Ismail Haji, a former taxi driver of Rotary Close, Dewsbury, in August in Thornes Park, Wakefield, along with a 15-year-old girl.
- Ismail Haji - sentenced to 19 years for three counts of rape, two counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of grooming and two counts of trafficking.
- Imran Haji - given an eight-year jail term after being found guilty of rape and trafficking.
- Ibrahim Kola - sentenced to 10 years in prison for rape and trafficking.
- Mohammed Chothia - jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of two counts of grooming, two counts of trafficking and one of taking indecent photos of a child.
The pair were later introduced to shop assistant Imran Haji, of Manor Way, Batley, and Kola, a factory worker of School Crescent, Dewsbury. The girls were subjected to sexual assaults at the property in Dewsbury. The 13-year-old was also abused at another address. Det Insp Lis Walker of West Yorkshire Police said: "These men took advantage of young and vulnerable victims for the sole purpose of sexually abusing them. "They were devious and manipulative in order to achieve their vile objectives." Ch Supt Mabs Hussain said the gang "behaved in a reprehensible fashion and targeted some of the most vulnerable people in our communities".
In 2020 police began probing an alleged grooming gang have charged 32 men with almost 200 offences against girls as young as 13. The alleged offences date from 1999 to 2012 against eight girls in Kirklees, Bradford and Wakefield. Police say the men are charged with a number of offences - including rape, sexual activity with a child, trafficking and false imprisonment.
- Asif Ali (50) of Batley charged with rape offences (x12), inciting sexual activity with a child (x2), supply class B drugs (X1), trafficking (X1), aiding and abetting rape (x1) assisting in the commission of an indictable offence (x1) making an indecent photo of a child (x2), possession of extreme pornographic images (x1). He has been bailed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 2pm on 11/12/20.
- Amer Ali Hussain (42) of Batley charged with rape (x2) and bailed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 2pm on 11/12/20.
- Sarfraz Miraf – (45) of Dewsbury charged with rape offences (x1). He has been bailed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 3pm on 11/12/20
- Nazam Hussain – (43) of Dewsbury, charged with rape offences (x4) and bailed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 3pm on 11/12/20 and 3pm on 14/12/20.
- Mohammed Nazam Nasser (35) of Batley, charged with rape offences (x3). Bailed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 3pm on 11/12/20.
- Moshin Nadat (35) from Batley, served with a postal requisition for rape offences (x2) to appear at Kirklees magistrates Court at 2pm on 11/12/20.
- Michael Birkenshaw (34) from Wakefield served with a postal requisition for rape (x1) and he is due to appear at court at 12pm on 11/12/20.
- Zafar Qayum (41) from Dewsbury charged with rape offences ( x17), gross indecency ( x4), indecent assault ( x9) assault ( X1) sexual activity with a child (x1) sexual assault (x1) theft (x1) and aiding and abetting rape (x2). He was bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court at 2pm on 14/12/20.
- Jabbar Qayum (39) from Dewsbury, charged with rape offences (x6) and aiding and abetting rape (x2). Bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court at 2pm on 14/12/20.
- Ansar Mahmood Qayum (43) from Dewsbury. Charged with rape offences (x13), attempted indecent assault (x2), aiding and abetting rape (x2). Bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court at 2pm on 14/12/20.
- Mohammed Tauseef Hanif (36) from Dewsbury. Charged with rape offences ( x4) Bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court at 3pm on 14/12/20.
- Ali Hussain Shah (35) from Dewsbury. Served with a postal requisition for rape offences (x2) to appear at Kirklees Magistrates on 11/12/20 at 2pm.
- Saleem Mohammed Nasir (44) from Dewsbury. Charged with rape offences (x3) and conspiracy to rape (x1). Bailed to Kirklees magistrates Court appearing at 10am on 11/12/20.
- Amran Mehrban (37) from Batley. Charged with rape offences (x2), false imprisonment (x1) and sexual assault (x1) and bailed to Kirklees magistrates Court 10am on 11/12/20
- Ebrahim Pandor (41) from Dewsbury. Charged with rape offences (x1) and trafficking (x2) and bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court 12pm on 11/12/20
- Shakil Daji (41) from Batley. Charged with rape offences (x2) and trafficking (x1) and bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court 12pm on 11/12/20.
- Mohammed Imran Zada (41) from Batley. Served with a postal requisition for rape offences (x6), indecent assault ( x2) and sexual activity with a child (x1) to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 10am on 11/12/20.
- Sarkaut Yasen (35) from Dewsbury. Charged with trafficking (x1) and aiding and abetting rape (x2). Bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court 11am on 11/12/20.
- Amjad Hussain (41) from Dewsbury. Charged with rape offences ( x2). Bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court 10am on 11/12/20.
- Asuk Hussain (50) from Dewsbury. Charged with rape (x2) and bailed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 10am on 14/12/20.
- Zafar Iqbal (35) from Batley. Charged with rape offences (x7) trafficking (x2) and supplying a Class B drug (x1) and bailed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 12pm on 14/12/20
- Nasar Iqbal (35) from Batley. Charged with rape offences (x7) and trafficking (x2) and bailed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 12pm on 14/12/20
- Bilal Mahmood Patel (38) from Leicester. Charged with rape offences (x2) and bailed to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 12pm on 14/12/20.
- Khurum Raziq (38) from Heckmondwike. Served with a postal requisition for rape offences (x8) and due to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 10am on 14/12/20. Update: sentenced to 22 years after being found guilty of eight offences of rape.
- Irfan Khan (34) from Batley. Served with a postal requisition for rape offences (x4) threats to kill (x1) false imprisonment (x1) and harassment (x1) to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 11am on 11/12/20.
- Omar Farooq Hussain (36) from Dewsbury. Charged with rape offences (x8) supplying class A drugs (x1) and bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court at 11am on 14/12/20.
- Sarfraz Hussain Riaz (37) from Liversedge. Charged with rape offences (x2) and attempted rape ( x1) and bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court at 11am on 14/12/20.
- Rameez Cheema (33) from Batley. Charged with rape offences (x1) and bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court at 11am on 14/12/20.
- Nasar Hussain (42) from Dewsbury. Charged with rape offences (x6) and bailed to Kirklees Magistrates Court at 10am on 14/12/20. Update: sentenced to 18 years after being found guilty of three rape offences.
- Mohammed Chothia (41) from Batley. Served with a postal requisition for rape offences (x8) to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 12pm on 14/12/20.
- Sajad Hussain (37) from Batley. Served with a postal requisition for rape offences (x1), false imprisonment (x1) trafficking (x1), aiding and abetting rape (x1) and supplying Class C drugs (x1) to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at 11am on 11/12/20.
- Yasser Ali (31) from Dewsbury. Served with a postal requisition for rape offences (x2) to appear at Kirklees Magistrates Court at Kirklees Magistrates Court on 14/12/20 at 11am.
There are 196 counts among the defendants in total against eight girls aged between 13 and 16. They were held by cops probing non-recent child sexual exploitation in parts of West Yorkshire as part of Operation Tourway. Cops say some of the victims were also subjected to offences when they were young adults.
Derby
The Derby child sex abuse ring was a group of men who sexually abused up to a hundred girls in Derby, England. In 2010, after an undercover investigation by Derbyshire police, members of the ring were charged with 75 offences relating to 26 girls. Nine of the 13 accused were convicted of grooming and raping girls between 12 and 18 years old. The attacks provoked fierce discussion about race and sexual exploitation. The thirteen men lived throughout Derby, and the police believed they met through a shared attraction for young girls.
The leaders were Abid Mohammed Saddique and Mohammed Romaan Liaqat, both married men with young children. They would cruise around the streets of Derby, targeting young girls. CCTV footage showed the gang leaders making repeated efforts to entice a pair of girls standing by the side of the road into their car. The police later discovered vodka and plastic cups under the car seats. Saddique was accused of having sexual activity with a 12-year-old in Darley Park, and Liaqat had sex with a 14-year-old in their vehicle.
- Abid Mohammed Saddique convicted of Rape, sexual assault, sexual activity with a child, perverting the course of justice, aiding and abetting rape, false imprisonment, making indecent images of children.
- Mohammed Romaan Liaqat convicted of Rape, sexual assault, aiding and abetting rape, affray, sexual activity with a child, making indecent images of children.
- Akshay Kumar convicted of Making indecent images of children.
- Faisal Mehmood convicted of Sexual activity with a child.
- Mohammed Imran Rehman convicted of Rape.
- Graham Blackham convicted of Breaches of Sexual Offender Prevention Order.
The victims, aged between 12 and 18, were predominantly vulnerable girls from troubled backgrounds, and some of them were in care and known to social services. The men would target girls at railway stations, on estates, and walking home from school. The gang would first befriend the girls, inviting them out for a drive or a drink and supplied them with alcohol and drugs. The grooming process was then intensified, the girls were invited to parties, and further meetings were arranged. The girls were then driven to secluded areas and were sexually abused and raped.
The abuse took place in houses and hotels across the Midlands, parks and even the victims' own homes. Two victims were threatened with hammers, while another was locked up before being raped. Sometimes, up to six men would be involved in the often violent assaults, which the gang would film on their mobile phones. Three gang members were filmed having sex with a 14-year-old girl in a hotel room to the sound of noisy cheering.
Some of the girls were locked up to prevent them from escaping. A 16-year-old victim stated: “I will never ever understand what has made them so evil and ignorant that still to this day they think they've not done anything wrong. The Derby case was one of several cases which prompted investigations looking into the claim that "the majority of the perpetrators have been British Pakistani"; the first was by Quilliam in December 2017, which released a report entitled "Group Based Child Sexual Exploitation – Dissecting Grooming Gangs", which claimed 84% of offenders were of South Asian heritage.
Banbury
The Banbury child sex abuse ring was a group of six men who committed serious sexual offences against under-aged girls in the English town of Banbury, Oxfordshire. In March 2015, they were found guilty of offences including rape and sexual activity with a child over a period extending from 2009 to 2014. Police in Banbury had drawn on the lessons of Operation Bullfinch, which targeted sexual abuse in nearby Oxford.
The men targeted vulnerable girls, using social media to organize parties at which the girls were groomed. The men used gifts and apparent displays of affection towards the girls, winning their trust before initiating abusive sexual relationships. Offences took place in cars, woods and in the men's private homes. Charges concerning seven victims aged from 13 to 15 were included in the prosecution case. The offences were rape, sexual activity with a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The six men were named as:
- Ahmed Hassan-Sule aged 21 Found guilty of 13 counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of assault by penetration.
- Mohamed Saleh aged 22 Found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child.
- Said Saleh aged 20 Found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child.
- Kagiso Manase aged 21 Found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of sexual assault.
- Takudzwa Hova aged 21 Found guilty of one count of rape, one count of sexual activity with a child and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
- Zsolt Szaltoni aged 18 Found guilty of one charge of rape
In March 2017, several others were arrested in connection with raping young girls.
Detective Inspector Steve Raffield of Banbury police was quoted as saying that the offenders “abused the trust of the vulnerable young victims for the purpose of their own sexual gratification”. He described the offences as “horrific” crimes that would “have a lasting impact upon the victims’ lives.” He condemned the offenders for pleading not guilty and forcing the victims “to relive their experiences by giving evidence in court.” He concluded by thanking the victims for the courage they showed in giving evidence, which had helped secure convictions of the accused men.
The Banbury MP Sir Tony Baldry was disturbed by tactics used by the defence during the trial, writing to the Lord Chancellor to express his concern at reference to the victims as willing participants who were falsely claiming abuse because “it is better to be a victim than a slag”. Defence counsel also alleged the case had been “manufactured” by the police and that the victims had been “brainwashed by social workers”.
Manchester
The Manchester child sex abuse ring was a group of men who committed serious sexual offences against under-aged girls in Manchester, England, between 2016 and 2018. Four members were jailed in September 2019, while others evaded arrest by fleeing the country. The gang repeatedly raped underage girls in Manchester between 2016 and 2018. Greater Manchester Police said the abuse was perpetrated by a “sophisticated grooming operation by males operating in that area”. Three victims aged 12 to 15 were identified.
The men groomed the victims by inundating them with Facebook messages asking them to meet them. Then the men brought the girls away to be raped. One 12-year-old girl was raped by at least four men. Another girl, aged 13, was groomed and made to have sex with a gang member three times. One of those times, she was kidnapped. Superintendent Rebecca Boyce said the perpetrators, who are all Romanian, are “not representative of their wider [Romanian] community — they are four individuals within that community”.
In September 2019, Judge Suzanne Goddard QC jailed four of the abusers for a total of 25 years for their “appalling” crimes, which she condemned as “heartless, immoral and illegal”. The four men were also placed on the sexual offenders register, three of them permanently. Three received sexual harm prevention orders of varying lengths. One had previously been jailed for dangerous driving.
- Parizian Calin (David) 20 Raping an under-13 (four counts), causing an under-13 to participate in sexual activity (two counts), arranging or facilitating a sexual offence against a child, sexually assaulting an under-13 received 13 years imprisonment.
- Ilie Baltatu (Danny) 22 Grooming, illegally detaining a child, sex acts with a child (three counts), causing a child older than 13 to participate in sexual activity (two counts), sexually assaulting a child older than 13 received 8 years imprisonment.
- Sebastian Baltatu 18 Raping an under-13 received 3 years imprisonment.
- Adrian Calin 20 Causing a child to participate in sexual activity, received 1 year imprisonment.
The impact on the victims was severe and prolonged. All the known victims were forced to move out of Manchester to escape the abuse. One said: “No words can explain what I was put through. […] Now I can't even go in my corner shop without being anxious or scared any more. The impact this has had on my life has been unbelievable.” Another said: “I feel sick when I think about what these people were doing. I think there might be even more victims that we don't know about.”.
Report
A report commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester found that police systematically overlooked crimes committed by an “Asian” grooming gang for fear of appearing racist. In the early 2000s, a grooming gang comprised of 97 men from South Asian backgrounds was able to roam free in Manchester, abusing at least 57 young girls, as members of the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were told to focus on apprehending offenders of “other ethnicities”.
The report, commissioned by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, found:
- Social workers knew that one 15-year-old girl, Victoria Agoglia, was being forcibly injected with heroin, but failed to act. She died two months later.
- Abusers were allowed to freely pick up and have sex with Victoria and other children from city care homes, 'in plain sight' of officials.
- Greater Manchester Police dropped an operation that identified up to 97 potential suspects and at least 57 potential victims. Eight of the men went on to later assault or rape girls.
- As recently as August 2018, the Chief Constable refused to reopen the dropped operation.
Members of the “Asian” paedophile ring sexually abused young girls, using drugs to make their victims compliant, leading to the death of a 15-year-old girl, Victoria Agoglia, who was injected with heroin by a 50-year-old man, leading to an overdose which killed her in 2003.
At the time of her death, Agoglia was under the care of Manchester City Council, which the report claims was privy to “multiple threats, sexual assaults and serious sexual exploitation”. The report admits the council did nothing to prevent her death and that her murderer remains unpunished to this day.
Case Files
Oldham
In 2021 a new police unit to investigate child sex grooming gangs in Greater Manchester identified more than 800 offenders. Across the force there are now 70 investigations which involve multiple victims of child sexual exploitation. A total of 468 victims have been discovered of whom 332 have been identified. Police say there are 809 offenders of whom 540 are known. In addition there are "hundreds of cases" where a single victim is involved.
A 12-year-old girl who was raped multiple times by different men was failed by Oldham authorities and police missed opportunities to bring her abusers to justice, a damning report has concluded. Almost three years after being commissioned, a review into allegations of historic child sexual exploitation has found that children in Oldham were being exploited and let down by services which tried and failed to protect them. Among its damning findings, the review has uncovered that:
- The Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed worked as a welfare officer in Oldham unchecked for a year despite being accused of serious child sexual abuse.
- Girls being drugged and violently raped were said by social workers to be ‘putting themselves at risk’.
- Oldham council gave taxi driver licences to men convicted or accused of serious sexual offences involving women and children.
- Shisha bars were known to be a threat - but vulnerable children as young as 13 still visited them for years.
In an individual case, the review found that Sophie - not her real name - fell into the hands of predators after trying to report a sexual assault at Oldham police station, which led to a further 24 hours of torment in which she was raped repeatedly. The review, commissioned by Oldham council in 2019 and written by experts Malcolm Newsam and Gary Ridgway, looked at the way authorities have dealt with child sexual exploitation between 2011 and 2014, and one specific case dating back to 2005.
The Labour Government has declined a formal request from Oldham Council for a government-led inquiry into historical child abuse related to grooming gangs. Instead, the Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has advised that the council should undertake its own inquiry. This decision follows a series of discussions and requests from Oldham's local leaders for a national investigation into child sexual exploitation in the area. Jess Phillips is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.
Rusholme
After the death of Victoria Agoglia, aged 15, in 2003, Augusta, was set up to see if there was a wider issue of child sexual exploitation in south Manchester. Victoria was sexually abused and injected with heroin. Officers managed to identify a network of nearly 100 men potentially involved in the abuse of scores of girls via takeaways in and around Rusholme, but Augusta was shut down shortly afterwards due to resources, ‘rather than a sound understanding’ of whether lines of inquiry had been exhausted.
Hardly any charges were made against the men identified by the operation. Eight of them later went on to commit serious sexual crimes, including the rape of a child, the rape of a young woman, sexual assault and sexual activity with a child.
Leeds
Four men from Leeds have been jailed for a total of 51 years after a ‘shocking catalogue of child sexual exploitation’ was uncovered. A jury at Leeds Crown Court were told earlier this month how a group of up to ten men had systematically groomed a 13-year-old victim by plying her with ‘cigarettes, alcohol and drugs’. Sentencing the four Leeds men, Judge Geoffrey Marson, QC said none of the defendants had shown any type of remorse for their actions during the six-week trial.
- Tariq Islam 31 of Cross Quarry Street, Woodhouse, was jailed for 13 years after being convicted of two offences of rape.
- Zafar Iqbal, 41, of Latchmere Drive, Horsforth, was handed a 15-year sentence for one offence of attempted rape and two of sexual activity with a child.
- Nasir Sultan, 24, and Amir Zaman, 25, both of Beeston, were jailed for 12 years and 11 years respectively.
Andrew Penhale, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS Yorkshire and Humberside said there was a severe ‘breaching of trust’ from all the men convicted. “Ten individuals have been convicted of offences which involve a shocking catalogue of child sexual exploitation,” he said. “The victim was targeted by older men precisely because of her youth and vulnerability”.
“The offences involved an appalling breach of trust – the victim was groomed and plied with cigarettes, alcohol and drugs to make her compliant. The defendants then showed a complete lack of remorse for their actions, with ten of them claiming throughout the contested trial that the allegations were fabricated, or that they believed the victim to be over 16.”
Middlesborough
Five girls groomed on the streets of a North-East town are still being “tortured” by supporters of the men who abused them, their families said tonight. The mother of one of the teenage victims spoke out after two men and a 17-year-old youth were jailed for a total of 19 years for sexually exploiting the girls in Middlesbrough. Passing sentence, Judge John Walford told Shakil Munir, 32, 19-year-old Sakib Ahmed and Ateeq Latif, 17, that they had regarded the girls — all aged between 13 and 15 — as objects for their own sexual pleasure.
- Taxidriver Shakil Munir, 32, of Tollesby Road, Middlesbrough, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child and one of abduction.
- Sakeb Ahmed, 19, a pizza shop worker from Cambridge Road, Middlesbrough, was also sentenced to eight years after admitting five charges of sexual activity with a child.
- Student Ateeq Latif, 17, of Abingdon Road, Middlesbrough, was sent to a young offenders’ institution for three years after being convicted of two counts of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
The court heard that the girls had been taunted and insulted by friends and family of the defendants since coming forward, including being bombarded by obscene messages, called sluts and accused of being racist. Judge Walford described the girls' treatment as “appalling”, adding that it revealed a “profoundly worrying attitude about the offending”. Speaking outside court after the sentencing, the mother of one of the victims said: “The girls are still being tortured by these people — they are painting them as sluts when they are the victims.”.
Judge John Walford told the three: "It is quite clear from all the evidence that you regarded these girls between the ages of 13 and 15 as objects for your sexual pleasure. "In reality they were children who lacked the maturity or experience to cope with your manipulative ways." The court heard how the girls were massively affected by the sexual crimes, and were subjected to a "horrifying" amount of pressure and abuse. They were called names like "white trash", goaded at school and bombarded by abusive messages on Facebook.
Peterborough
The Peterborough sex abuse case involved 10 men who committed sexual offences against under-aged girls, some as young as 12, in the English city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. In a series of trials in 2014 and 2015, they were found guilty of rape, child prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The victims were of Czech, Slovak and English origin and typically vulnerable girls, some in local authority care, who were groomed with gifts of tobacco, free meals and apparent displays of affection and friendship by the older males who were targeting them. They were then persuaded to drink vodka or other strong alcoholic drinks and coerced into sexual acts. Some were subsequently trafficked as child prostitutes.
- Hassan Abdulla aged 34 convicted of Four counts of rape, and three counts of sexual activity with a child.
- Renato Balog aged 19 convicted of Five counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault.
- Jan Kandrac aged 18 convicted of Rape and two counts of sexual touching.
- Yasir Ali aged 29 convicted of Four counts of rape, seven counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation, two counts of making indecent images of children, one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and one count of intimidation of a witness/juror.
- Daaim Ashraf aged 20 convicted of Five counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation, one count of sexual assault, one count of sexual activity with a child, one count of sexual activity in the presence of a child, and one count of intimidation of a witness/juror.
- Mohammed Abbas aged 30 convicted of Two counts of sexual assault on a girl aged under 12 and two counts of sexual activity with a child.
- 'Unnamed Child' aged 14 convicted of Sexual activity with a child.
- Muhammed Waqas aged 24 convicted of Sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15.
- Zdeno Mirga aged 18 convicted of Inciting child prostitution, eight counts of rape and four counts of sexual activity with a child.
- Mohammed Khubaib aged 43 convicted of Rape and grooming offences.
The man whose activity prompted the police operation, Mohammed Khubaib, a 43-year-old restaurant-owner of Pakistani heritage, was described during his trial at the Old Bailey as having a “'persistent and almost predatory interest' in teenage girls”. Khubaib also owned a lettings agency and took under-aged girls to flats under his control, where he and his friends would give them alcohol and play them sexually explicit music videos as part of the sexual grooming.
One of Khubaib's victims said in a victim impact statement: “It was disgusting what he did to me. Before that happened, I was a typical 13-year-old who didn't know any better and thought that Mohammed was my friend who I had under my thumb. Now I know that he was the one with the control.”.
Aylesbury
The Aylesbury child sex abuse ring was a group of five men who committed serious sexual offences against two under-aged girls in the English town of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. In July 2015, they were found guilty of offences including rape and child prostitution over a period extending from 2006 to 2012. The child protection charity Barnardo's stated that it had worked with the two girls in 2008 and referred one of them to Buckinghamshire County Council as in danger of child sex exploitation. The council did not respond adequately and, following the convictions, apologized to the two girls for its failure to protect them. It has now instituted a Serious Case Review to examine those failures.
Those investigated, prosecuted (all of them Asian) are…
- Mohammed Imran aged 38 convicted of Rape, conspiracy to rape and child prostitution.
- Akbari Khan aged 36 convicted of Rape, administering a substance with intent and conspiracy to rape.
- Arshad Jani aged 33 convicted of Rape and conspiracy to rape.
- Vikram Singh aged 45 convicted of Rape and administering a substance with intent.
- Asif Hussain aged 33 convicted of Rape.
- Taimoor Khan aged 29 convicted of sexual activity with a child.
The gang used gifts of food, alcohol, drugs and DVDs to win the girls' trust before initiating abusive sexual relationships. The girls, referred to in court as Girl A and Girl B, were subsequently trafficked as child prostitutes in Aylesbury. One girl gave evidence that she had had sex with 60 men, almost all of Asian heritage, when she was only 12 or 13, having been “conditioned to think it was normal behaviour”. Sex took place in various locations in Aylesbury, including the girls' own homes. The men were friends living in the area, some married with children, some working in the market and some as taxi drivers.
Following conviction in July 2015, the men were sentenced in September to jail terms ranging from three to nineteen-and-a-half years totalling 82 years and six months. Judge John Bevan QC said that “for the price of a McDonald's, a milkshake and cinema ticket”, Girl A was sexually exploited by “stallholders in Aylesbury market, taxi, and bus drivers”. He said he could not explain why the criminals “focused their attention on white under-age girls”, but believed their “vulnerability” played a major role.
He said that if the criminals had targeted “Asian under-age girls, they would have paid a heavy price in their community.” Girl A herself made a statement speaking of the effects of her exploitation by up to 60 Asian men, describing her feelings of “worthlessness” and her battles with depression and alcohol addiction. She added that she felt that her “teenage years were taken away”. In her statement, Girl B said that the sentences were “academic” because “no sentence could ever put right what happened”.
Chelmsford
Pizza takeaway staff groomed a 13-year-old girl with free food and got her hooked on cocaine before selling her to other men for sex. Mohammad Rostami, 37, lure the teenager into beginning a sexual relationship with him after they met in a pizza shop in Chelmsford, Essex, before farming her out to other abusers. After his interest in her fizzled out, she was exploited by Mehdi Zare, 32, who arranged for her to have sex with others in return for drugs and money.
Their crimes came to light after the victim, now a young woman, contacted Essex Police in April 2014 to report she had been abused when she was 13 or 14. After seeing her abusers jailed she told how they had left her feeling "dirty and disgusting" and said she now struggled to trust people.
- Mohammad Rostami, formerly of Shoeburyness, Essex was found guilty of causing or inciting sexual exploitation of a child aged under 18, two counts of sexual activity with a child aged under 16 and three counts of supplying cocaine, cannabis and mephedrone. He was jailed for 21 years.
- Mehdi Zare, 32, a pizza deliveryman from Chelmsford, was found guilty of arranging or facilitating sexual exploitation of a child, sexual activity with a child, and three counts of supplying cocaine, cannabis and mephedrone. He was jailed for 12 years.
- Amin Kaveh, 35, who shared a home with Rostami, also stood trial and was found guilty of supplying a controlled class B drug to the same victim. He was jailed for 10 years.
Speaking after the case concluded, the brave victim said: "I finally feel free. I have spent the last few years thinking they wouldn't pay for what they have done to me and others. I never thought anyone would believe me. I now feel a huge weight has been finally lifted from my shoulders. What happened has affected me in so many ways, not just physically but mentally and emotionally too. I have been on self-destruct mode most of my life.
I felt dirty and disgusting, like I did something wrong, and still do. I have lost friends and I nearly lost my relationship with my family. I lost relationships as I found it hard to trust not just men but anyone. But I am learning day by day that I can't let them beat me. I have now moved away and started afresh and am just getting on with my life the best I can, with the love and support from my amazing boyfriend and my family".
High Wycombe
Three men involved in an Asian child sex gang who preyed on a schoolgirl they had drugged with cannabis and heroin, started jail terms on Saturday after being convicted of crimes carried out in High Wycombe, Aylesbury and Wendover, years previously. A judge jailed them for up to 19 years after hearing a heart-rending victim impact statement from the victim who is now a 32-year-old who suffers from alcohol addiction and depression. The jury had convicted one man of grooming and two other men of raping and giving heroin to a girl in her teenage years. They were each sentenced to serve up to 19 years in prison.
The now adult child, who the court heard was “desperate for love” after being alienated from her family, was introduced to hard drugs and convinced to have sex with strangers in High Wycombe, Wendover and Aylesbury, as payment. Over the course of one year or more, a taxi driver would pick the 15-year-old girl up at her school and take her to a rented flat, where her body would be sold to up to eight adult men almost every night. When she approached the police in fear that her life was in danger, she was turned away and told she “needed more evidence” and said she felt like officers were asking her to be sexually assaulted again to get proof.
- Mohammed Kayani, 64, of Pettifer Way, High Wycombe, was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment for indecency with a girl under the age of 14, the rape of a girl under the age of 16 and for allowing his premises to be used for unlawful sexual intercourse.
- Berkley John, 76, of Badrick Road, Aylesbury, was imprisoned for 15 years and six months for indecency with a girl and raping another girl, both of whom were under 16.
- Mohammad Aslam, 59, of Paterson Road, Aylesbury, was given 17 years for the rape of a girl under the age of 16.
- Saeed Ahmed, 50, of Marlin Road, Luton, was sentenced to 18 months in jail for allowing his premises to be used for unlawful sexual intercourse.
- Tariq Hussein, 46, of Mount Close in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was sentenced in October to 20 months in jail.
Judge Johanna Cutts, sitting at Reading Crown Court, heard that the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was first introduced to the perpetrators at the early age of 13 years, when taxi driver Berkley John picked her up and preyed on her vulnerability. The court was told that defendant John, from Aylesbury, who was aged in his late 50s at the time and was a stranger to the victim, told her he loved her and said he wanted to marry her when she turned 16.
He then took her to his friend Saeed Ahmed’s flat in Aylesbury where they introduced her to cannabis and, as she became addicted over time, John started making her perform oral sex on him as payment. The abuse became more serious when John started giving her heroin and forced her to have sex with him and others in Ahmed’s flat. While Ahmed, aged 51, was aware of the purpose for which his flat was being used, he did not partake in the sexual activities, the court heard.
Chesham
Four men from south Buckinghamshire have been found guilty of sexually abusing a vulnerable schoolgirl over an eight-month period. Nazakat Mahmood, Ghulfaraz Nawaz, Haroon Rauf and Omar Sharif were convicted of committing a string of sexual offences against the girl between December 2011 and July 2012.
She was just 14 years old at the time of the abuse. Mahmood, Nawaz and Rauf forced the girl, who was often plied with alcohol, to perform sex acts on them and pressured her into having full sex on several occasions in the Chesham area, Reading Crown Court heard.
- Nazakat Mahmood, 28, of Batchelors Way, Chesham — convicted of seven counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Jailed for thirteen and a half years.
- Ghulfaraz Nawaz, 27, of Benham Close, Chesham — convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a child. Jailed for five and a half years.
- Haroon Rauf, 30, of Drakes Close, Amersham — convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of assault by beating. Jailed for six years.
- Omar Sharif, 25, of Brockhurst Road, Chesham — convicted of six counts of sexual activity with a child. Jailed for eight years.
After the trio were arrested, Sharif blackmailed her into having sex with him — including in her pyjamas in a graveyard in the middle of the night, jurors were told. Prosecutors said all the men had denied having any sexual activity with the girl or inciting it, and they believed she was at least 17 years old. Yet jurors were told all of the men, then aged in their 20s, had known how young their victim really was. On Tuesday, jurors returned guilty verdicts on 20 counts against the four men to bring an end to the three-week trial.