Nine men found guilty of sexually abusing vulnerable girls in Rochdale

[Jan Klimkowski]

This is a huge story in the UK.

Eight of the nine men found guilty were of Pakistani origin (the other was Afghani and thus also "dusky" to use the crude vernacular).

The young female victims were all white underclass, with presumably dynfunctional home backgrounds and parents.

This is incendiary and will be exploited politically. (The British National Party, a splinter from the National Front, is already on the case.)

The right-wing claim is that "Muslim men regard white women as lacking morals and being infidels".

I would argue that the Italian-American, madonna/whore, psyche as revealed in DeNiro's performance as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull is relevant. LaMotta sees his wife as the Virgin Mary, mother of his children by immaculate conception. All other women are whores to be fucked, abused and discarded.

The influence of religious dogma is pervasive.

Nine men found guilty of sexually abusing vulnerable girls in Rochdale

Men plied girls as young as 13 with drink and drugs in order to use them for sex, jury heard

Helen Carter

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 8 May 2012 16.15 BST

Nine men have been found guilty of being part of a child sexual exploitation ring involving vulnerable girls.

Five girls were "shared" by Kabeer Hassan, Abdul Aziz, Abdul Rauf, Mohammed Sajid, Adil Khan, Abdul Qayyum, Mohammed Amin, Hamid Safi and a 59-year-old man who cannot be named for legal reasons in and around Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

A jury at Liverpool crown court heard that the defendants plied the vulnerable girls, some as young as 13, with fast food, drink and drugs so they could "pass them around" and use them for sex. One 13-year-old victim became pregnant and had the unborn 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". She later cried herself to sleep.

The court heard that some of the girls were raped and physically assaulted and some were forced to have sex with "several men in a day, several times a week".

During an 11-week trial, jurors heard how five vulnerable teenagers were "shared" by Hassan, 25, Aziz, 41, Rauf, 43 Sajid, 35, Khan, 42, Qayyum, 43, Amin, 44, Safi, 22, and the 59-year-old, who were all convicted of conspiracy to engage a child under 16 in sexual activity.

Qamar Shazad, 30, was cleared of both charges he had been accused of the child sex conspiracy charge and rape. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on Liaquat Shah, 41, on the conspiracy charge which was formally dropped by the prosecution and he had also previously been cleared of two rapes by the jury. The jurors deliberated for more than 21 hours before reaching all their verdicts.

Safi was also convicted on a trafficking charge within the UK.

The 59-year-old defendant was also convicted of two rapes dating back to 2008, aiding and abetting a rape, sexual assault and trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation.

Greater Manchester police is conducting an inquiry, supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, over the original botched investigation four years ago after the CPS decided not to prosecute two men, including the 59-year-old.

Hassan, from Oldham, was convicted of rape and Aziz, of Rochdale, was convicted of trafficking for sexual exploitation but cleared of two rapes.

Khan and Rauf, of Rochdale, were convicted of trafficking for sexual exploitation within the UK. Sajid, also of Rochdale, was convicted of trafficking, one count of rape and one charge of sexual activity with a child. Sajid was cleared of a second rape charge.

Amin, from Rochdale, was convicted of sexual assault. Khan was found guilty of trafficking one of the girls within the UK and Sajid was convicted of trafficking another of the girls, also within the UK.

The jurors were told that the men who are all of British Pakistani heritage, apart from Safi, who is from Afghanistan groomed the teenage girls, who were vulnerable because of their chaotic lifestyle, hanging round kebab shops late at night and befriending the staff who worked there. The court heard that they acted together to sexually exploit the girls.

The jurors retired to consider their verdicts last week and returned partial verdicts last Thursday, which were subject to reporting restrictions. The trial was almost derailed when the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, tweeted that seven verdicts had been reached, which was an alleged contempt of court, and he could still face court action. It is not clear how he learned of the jury's decision as reporting restrictions were in place at the time. The remaining verdicts were returned on Tuesday.

The trial judge, Mr Justice Clifton, will sentence the nine men on Wednesday.

The Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, criticised the police for their inaction four years ago. He said: "What has become clear is that if the police had acted seriously on these concerns in 2008, many of the victims of this appalling case would not have to go through such horrific trauma." He said it was unacceptable that the young women were let down by people they should have been able to trust.

Shazad, who was cleared of both charges, said he was delighted with the verdict. He said he was an innocent man and was glad the jury had believed him. His reputation had been badly damaged after his arrest but he could now go back to his life as an innocent man with his head held high, he said.

[Magda Hassan]

I would argue that the Italian-American, madonna/whore, psyche as revealed in DeNiro's performance as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull is relevant. LaMotta sees his wife as the Virgin Mary, mother of his children by immaculate conception. All other women are whores to be fucked, abused and discarded.

The influence of religious dogma is pervasive.

Indeed this is pivotal in the mentality of rapists.

This is incendiary and will be exploited politically. (The British National Party, a splinter from the National Front, is already on the case.)

It certainly will. We've had a similar series of rapes by Muslims here also and it too played well with the nationalists and racists.

[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.