Seven men sentenced for series of historic sexual offences in Rochdale (Image: -)
A seven-strong Asian grooming gang who raped and abused two teenage “sex slaves” have been jailed for a total of 174 years.
The depraved sex-beasts subjected the young white girls to a sickening five-year ordeal where they were trafficked to hundreds of their friends across the north of England.
Their victims, known as Girl A and Girl B, were groomed from the age of 13 and treated as “sex slaves” who were forced to “have sex with the men whenever and wherever they wanted”.
Girl A told how having her phone number shared with over 200 men had “destroyed my life” as she was repeatedly raped by the paedophiles. Her harrowing personal statement was read out as part of a three-day sentencing hearing of the seven men who were convicted earlier this year of a string of sickening child sex offences relating to her and another teenage girl in the town of Rochdale between 2001 and 2006.
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Seven men have been found guilty of a series of historic sexual offences after two girls were groome (Image: Men Media)
Images of Rochdale Town Centre to link with the independent assurance review into historic child sex (Image: Men Media)
Both girls suffered “deeply troubled home lives” which left them vulnerable to the men whose ringleader operated from a market stall in the town. After being befriended with gifts such as free underwear the girls were plied with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, places to stay and people to be with as the men groomed them for abuse. Soon after the attacks began, taking place in filthy flats, on rancid mattresses, in cars, car parks, alleyways and even disused warehouses.
During the trial Girl A told the jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court that she could have been targeted by more than 200 offenders as her phone number was swapped but said “there was that many it was hard to keep count”.
On Monday, in a statement read out by prosecutor Rossano Scamardella KC, she said: “My life has been destroyed from the abuse of these men.
“The abuse has affected every part of my life, from what I look like, relationships, health, to my mental health.
Seven men have been found guilty of a series of historic sexual offences after two girls were groome (Image: Men Media)
“Over the last 10 years when I finally plucked up the courage to approach the police and disclose the abuse I suffered, it has been an absolute emotional rollercoaster for me.
“I have provided about 40 video interviews having to speak about what I was subjected to, talking about it out loud and explaining it in detail.
“This has been and still is consuming my life. I hope that one day I will be able to move forward with my life.
“The jury finding these men guilty I hope is going to help me take another step forward to get my life back, as I have already lost my childhood. And now because of the case I’m losing part of my adult life, continually revisiting the abuse of my childhood.”
Girl B revealed social workers had dismissed from the age of 10 as “a prostitute”. The victim, who was living in a children’s home when she came into contact with the men on the market, said police and social workers knew what was going on but “weren’t concerned enough to do anything about it”.
Seven men have been found guilty of a series of historic sexual offences after two girls were groome (Image: Men Media)
“It was in my file, when I looked it up. I read it,” the woman, now aged in her 30s, revealed.
“I was picked up by the police for loitering and prostituting from the age of 10.”
Three of the abusers, Mohammed Zahid, 64, the leader of the gang, Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Kasir Bashir, 50, were all Pakistan-born stallholders on the market.
Father-of-three Zahid, who was known as Boss Man, gave free underwear from his lingerie stall to the girls, who did not know each other.
Bravely Girl B read her victim personal statement from the witness box as she urged other victims to come forward to the police.
She said: “I coped with what these men did to me as at the time I believed that every man I came into contact with would expect sex. It is horrific that I didn’t know any different.
“My way of coping was to block out most of what had been done to me. I have felt shame and guilt all my life for what these men did.
Seven men have been found guilty of a series of historic sexual offences after two girls were groome (Image: Men Media)
“My life has been on hold for the last 20 years, I have never been able to move on from the abuse.”
The survivor said she previously had “no faith in the police, but now encouraged other females who have been exploited to contact dedicated child sexual exploitation teams.
She added: “I want these victims to know that if they feel ready to deal with what happened to them they shouldn’t wait, they should go to the CSE team because they will do a good job.
“It doesn’t matter how much time has gone by, it is still possible to get justice.
“The day I watched the verdicts changed my life, I instantly had a massive weight lifted off me and I now feel like I can live my life. I do not need to feel ashamed, and I have already started that process.”
Judge Jonathan Seely praised both women for their “extraordinary courage” in making their statements, coming forward with their complaints and then going through the trial process.
Mohammed Zahid, 65, of Crumpsall, was convicted of raping Girl A and Girl B, who did not know each other, on multiple occasions. Jurors also found him guilty of offences of indecency with a child and procuring a child to have sex.
Seven men have been found guilty of a series of historic sexual offences after two girls were groome (Image: Men Media)
Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Kasir Bashir, 50, both of Oldham, were convicted of multiple counts of rape and indecency with a child, in relation to Girl B.
Mohammed Shahzad, 44, Naheem Akram, 49, and Nisar Hussain, 41, all of Rochdale, were convicted of multiple counts of rape against Girl A.
Roheez Khan, 39, also of Rochdale, was found guilty of a single count of rape against Girl A.
Bashir will be sentenced in his absence after he fled the UK while on bail before the trial started.
In 2016, Zahid was jailed for five years in an earlier grooming gang case after he engaged in sexual activity in 2006 with a 15-year-old girl who he met when she visited his stall to buy tights for school.
Bashir meanwhile absconded while on bail and is being hunted by GMP. He was sentenced in his absence with police admitting they do not know where he is.
Shahzad, 44, Akram, 48, and Hussain, 41, were remanded in custody last January – ahead of the summer trial – after police received intelligence that the three taxi drivers were planning to flee the UK and had already paid a deposit for their transport.
ROCHDALE, ENGLAND – MARCH 03: A general view over the Lancashire town of Rochdale after ten men fac (Image: Getty Images)
The seventh defendant Pakistan-born Roheez Khan, 39, also featured in another previous Rochdale grooming trial in 2013.
He was jailed for six-and-a-half years as one of five men convicted of sexually exploiting a “profoundly vulnerable” 15-year-old girl in 2008 and 2009.
All the men were prosecuted as part of Operation Lytton, an ongoing investigation by the force into historical child sexual exploitation in the town.
A total of 32 offenders have been convicted so far as part of that inquiry along with an earlier investigation called Operation Doublet into child sexual exploitation.
Five more trials are scheduled to take place from September.
Seven men have been found guilty of a series of historic sexual offences after two girls were groome (Image: Men Media)
Seven men have been found guilty of a series of historic sexual offences after two girls were groome (Image: Men Media)
Following the verdicts earlier this year, Det Supt Alan Clitherow, from Greater Manchester Police’s CSE team, said the force should have done more at the time.
“What is clear is the way those victims were dealt with at the time is indefensible and inexcusable,” he said.
“There was information at the time that police and other agencies could and should have done something with and we didn’t.
“We have made comprehensive apologies for that.”
He said the force had since improved on how these investigations are managed.
All the men were prosecuted as part of Operation Lytton, an ongoing investigation by the force into historical child sexual exploitation in the town.
Liz Fell from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “These men targeted children, preyed upon their vulnerabilities and groomed them for their own sexual gratification.
“The treatment of the victims at the hands of these predators was nothing short of appalling.”
She said the convictions sent “a very clear message” that the CPS and police would “relentlessly” prosecute those who sexually exploit children, “whenever that abuse took place”.
Sharon Hubber, Rochdale Borough Council’s director of children’s services, said: “We know that more could and should have been done by the people who were working here at the time, and for that we are truly sorry.”
The NSPCC said the “appalling, ruthless exploitation” of these vulnerable girls highlighted the need for children to be able to speak out and warned that adults must educate themselves on the signs of grooming.
“Child sexual abuse can have profound and long-lasting consequences on those who experience it,” the charity added.
