A depraved paedophile operating in Britain’s grooming gang capital has been jailed for 19 years after being found guilty of raping and abused two young girls. Obaidullah Omari treated his two child victims as “objects” to be abused after targeting the youngest when she was just 12-years-old. Sheffield Crown Court heard how after grooming the girls Omari, 46, sexually abused them when they were aged 13 and 14.
The offences, which occurred between 2003 and 2004, were investigated by officers from the National Crime Agency’s Operation Stovewood, which is looking into child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. Omari, in his 20s at the time, plied the girls with alcohol and drugs before attacking them. The jury found that Omari raped the first girl multiple times at two different locations – his house in Eastwood, South Yorks, and in his car.
They also found him guilty of raping the second girl on one occasion.
He was found not guilty of one count of raping a child under 13, relating to the second victim
Both victims came forward to Operation Stovewood more than 20 years after the abuse took place, providing their accounts to officers who then went on to arrest Omari in 2019.
Following a two-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court, Omari was found guilty of three counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault.
The jury heard how both girls were targeted because their vulnerability “made them attractive to those who wanted to exploit young, vulnerable girls.”
Opening the case Matthew Bean, prosecuting, said: “These were, in each case, far from normal sexual encounters where consent is clear and obvious, where the parties are on equal terms, where consent is freely given without inducement, or pressure, or fear.
“For these defendants, the girls were objects to be used. There was no true consent.”
The court was told both victims were the product of fractured or failing families and were being looked after in the care system, “without the immediate protection of their parents.”
Mr Bean added: “What is more, their circumstances, the hand that they had each been dealt, perhaps meant that they would push against the rules, whether at home or in the care system.
“This, no doubt, made them attractive to those who wanted to exploit young, vulnerable girls.
“They were, it was perhaps thought, the sort of girls who might not complain. Indeed, they did not make any complaints at the time.”
Following the paedophile’s incarceration NCA senior investigating officer Alan Hastings said: “Today Omari begins an appropriately substantial prison sentence for the sexual offences he committed against two girls more than 20 years ago.
“The victims demonstrated immense courage both in reporting Omari’s crimes and in giving evidence against him. I’m pleased that Operation Stovewood has been able to secure justice for the women and I hope Omari’s conviction helps them move forward with their lives.
“I encourage victims of child sexual abuse to report it to police, no matter how long ago the offending took place.”
The NCA’s Operation Stovewood remains the single biggest investigation of its kind, looking at allegations of abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. To date 48 people – including Omari – have been convicted.