Nine men found guilty of sexually abusing vulnerable girls in Rochdale

[Jan Klimkowski]

The sentencing.

The background of some of the guilty includes married men with children the same age as those they raped, and a teacher.

I'm intrigued as to why the 59-year-old man cannot be named "for legal reasons". It may be that there are other legal cases currently active. If so, we will learn this in due course.

If it is for any other reason, then this may be a concern.

Rochdale gang jailed for sexually exploiting vulnerable girls

Nine men get sentences of up to 19 years as judge says they were driven by lust and greed and treated victims as 'worthless'

Helen Carter

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 May 2012 14.34 BST


Nine men who were found guilty of being part of a child sexual exploitation gang that targeted vulnerable girls, plying them with fast food, alcohol, drugs and gifts so they could pass them around a group of men for sex, have been jailed.

The men were convicted after a lengthy trial at Liverpool crown court on Tuesday of a variety of offences, including trafficking within the UK, rape, sexual assault and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child. They were part of a gang who groomed vulnerable young girls in and around Rochdale, Greater Manchester, and they were given jail sentences ranging from four to 19 years.

On Wednesday morning Mr Justice Clifton told eight of the men they had been convicted of "very grave sexual offences" committed between the spring of 2008 and 2010 involving the grooming and sexual exploitation of several girls in their early teens. He said the men were driven by lust and greed.

He said in some cases "those girls were raped callously, viciously and violently". The judge said some of the victims were driven around Rochdale and Oldham and made to have sex with paying customers, "most of whom were many years older than they were". He said the victims were at a difficult point in their lives, one had been in care for many years and one had left her parents' home.

"All of you treated [the victims] as though they were worthless and beyond respect," he said. The judge said one of the defendants told the trial he "didn't want to be seen with young white girls in his community in Oldham".

He said some of the men had said their arrests were triggered by race "but this is so much nonsense" and the prosecution was prompted by their "lust and greed". He made the point that the sentences he passed "apply to all defendants be they white or Asian".

The longest sentence 19 years was for a 59-year-old man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. He opted not to be in court to hear the sentence after being convicted of two rapes, aiding and abetting rape, sexual assault and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Previously, he had accused the judge of being a "racist bastard".

The judge described him as an "unpleasant and hypocritical bully" who ordered a 15-year-old girl to have sex against her will with 25-year-old Kabeer Hassan as a birthday treat.

One 13-year-old victim became pregnant and had the child aborted. Another gave evidence of being raped by two men while she was "so drunk she was vomiting over the side of the bed" and said she later cried herself to sleep. The victims, who were said to be from chaotic backgrounds, were raped, physically assaulted and forced to have sex with several men in a day, several times a week.

The takeaway worker Kabeer Hassan, 25, of Oldham, was jailed for nine years for rape and three years, concurrently, for the conspiracy conviction.

Hamid Safi, 22, an illegal immigrant of no fixed address, was jailed for four years for conspiracy and one year, concurrently, for trafficking. He arrived in the UK on a lorry four years ago and claimed to have fled Afghanistan because his uncle was murdered by the Taliban. Safi was released from a detention centre in Birmingham in March 2009, when he moved to Rochdale. He will be deported back to Afghanistan following his sentence. The judge said it was difficult to pinpoint his role but his relative youth may have been used to create "a veneer of respectability".

Abdul Qayyum, 44, of Rochdale, was jailed for five years for conspiracy. He was a driver for Streamline Taxis in Middleton, Greater Manchester, and was known by the name "Tiger". His barrister said he was a hard-working man of significant character in the community.

Mohammed Amin, 45, of Rochdale, was sentenced to five years for conspiracy and 12 months, concurrently, for sexual assault. He was a driver for Eagle Taxis for 14 years. He is married with school-aged children and has no previous convictions or complaints about his character.

Adil Khan, 42, of Rochdale, was given eight years for conspiracy and eight years, concurrently, for trafficking for sexual exploitation. Khan, who is married with one child, fathered the baby of a 13-year-old victim who believed she was in love with him.

Mohammed Sajid, 35, of Rochdale, was sentenced to 12 years for rape, six years for conspiracy, one year for trafficking and six years, concurrently, for sexual activity with a child. Known as "Saj", he would regularly ply victims with alcohol before having sex with them at his flat, where groups of men would gather and "pass around" the girls. He will be deported back to Pakistan following the conclusion of his sentence.

Abdul Rauf, 43, a married father-of-five from Rochdale, was jailed for six years for conspiracy and six years, concurrently, for trafficking for sexual exploitation. The religious studies teacher at a local mosque asked a 15-year-victim if she had any younger friends and would drive some of the girls to other men, who would use them for sex, despite knowing they were underage.

Abdul Aziz, 41, a taxi driver from Rochdale, was sentenced to nine years for conspiracy and nine years, concurrently, for trafficking for sexual exploitation. The married father of three took over from the 59-year-old as the main trafficker of the victims and was paid by other men to supply girls. The judge said he was an intelligent man who had been referred to as "Master".

He said he took a victim to a flat "and plied her with weed and vodka" and coerced her into having sex with men several times a week for months. The judge described his behaviour as repugnant and said an additional aggravating factor was the real and severe coercion.

The judge praised the jury for their careful and painstaking deliberations and excused them from further jury service for 15 years.