Rotherham sex gang ringleader jailed for 35 years

Arshid Hussain - the ringleader of a gang who groomed, raped and abused teenage girls in Rotherham - has been jailed for 35 years.

His brothers Basharat Hussain and Bannaras Hussein were jailed for 25 years and 19 years respectively by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court.

Their uncle, Qurban Ali, was jailed for 10 years. Female accomplice Karen MacGregor was jailed for 13 years while Shelley Davis was given an 18 month suspended sentence.

It comes after six members of the ring, led by the three brothers, were found guilty of a total of 55 offences involving the sexual exploitation of 15 teenage girls.

During the trial a jury heard victims describe how they were targeted in their young teens and subjected to brutal treatment as they were passed around men who raped and beat them.

Brothers Arshid Hussain, 40, Basharat Hussain, 39 and Bannaras Hussain, 36, led the grooming ring and each of them has been found guilty of offences including rape and indecent assault.

Qurban Ali, 53, the brothers' uncle helped them in their illegal activity and was convicted of conspiracy to rape.

Two women - Karen MacGregor, 58, and Shelley Davies, 40 - were also found guilty of conspiracy to procure prostitutes and false imprisonment following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court earlier this week.

Gang caused harm of 'immeasurable proportions'

Sentencing, Judge Sarah Wright said: "The impact of your offending has been devastating to the victims.

"Their childhoods and adolescence can never be reclaimed. They suffer and will continue to suffer throughout their lives as a result of your actions.

"The harm you have caused is of immeasurable proportions."

She also paid tribute to the "immense courage" of the victims who came forward.

What were members of the sex ring found guilty of?

Arshid Hussain

  • one count of conspiracy to rape

  • 11 indecent assaults

  • three rapes

  • one other serious sexual assault

  • one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sex with another

  • one count of false imprisonment

  • two counts of procuring a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute

  • one count of attempting to procure a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse

  • one count of abducting a 15-year-old girl

  • one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Basharat Hussain

  • one rape

  • five indecent assaults

  • one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another

  • false imprisonment

  • three counts of indecency with a child

  • one count of procuring a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute

  • two assaults occasioning actual bodily harm

  • one count of making threats to kill

Bannaras Hussain

  • two rapes

  • six indecent assaults

  • assault occasioning actual bodily harm

  • procuring a woman to be a prostitute

Qurban Ali

  • conspiracy to rape

Karen MacGregor

  • one count of conspiracy to procure a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute

  • false imprisonment

  • two counts of conspiracy to rape.

Shelley Davies

  • conspiracy to procure a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute

  • false imprisonment