Students jailed for sexually exploiting vulnerable teenage girls

Four students who sexually exploited vulnerable teenage girls have been jailed for 17 years between them, after a judge said they treated their victims like "trophies".

The five victims were all 13-14 years old when they were sexually abused between December 2016 and March 2017.

One of the girls only realised she had been groomed after watching an educational video.

18-year-old Mohammed Hizwar Rizwan and Taiyab Hussain, Shaheem Ratyal, and Sohail Raja Ali, who are are 19, pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child and other sexual offences.

Passing sentence at Stafford Crown Court, Judge Jonathan Gosling said:

The men, who are all from Staffordshire, were given sexual harm prevention orders, banning them from Snapchat for eight years.

They also face a lifetime registration on the Sex Offenders Register.

Their individual sentences are as follows:

  • Hussain, of Shobnall Street, Burton-upon-Trent, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of possession of an indecent photograph of a child. He was jailed for 5 years.

  • Rizwan, of Derby Road, Burton-upon-Trent, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was given a 4 years and 4 months prison sentence.

  • Ratyal, of Grange Street, Burton-upon-Trent, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and five counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for 4 years and 4 months.

  • Ali, of Weston Park Avenue, Burton-upon-Trent, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity. He was given a 4 year prison sentence.

Detective Inspector Simon Caton, the senior investigating officer on the case, said:

John Wood, chair of the Staffordshire Safeguarding Children Board, said: