Rotherham grooming scandal: Seven men convicted of abusing girls
Seven men have been convicted of the "traumatic" sexual abuse of two girls over a five-year period as part of an investigation into the Rotherham grooming scandal.
Mohammed Amar, 42, Mohammed Siyab, 44, Yasser Ajaib, 39, Mohammed Zameer Sadiq, 49, Abid Saddiq, 43, Tahir Yassin, 38, and Ramin Bari, 37, exploited the girls, who were aged 11 and 15 when the attacks began, between 2003 and 2008.
Sheffield Crown Court heard the gang picked up the victims in their cars and gave them cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis and money.
The girls would then be assaulted, forced to perform sexual acts or raped.
The court heard how the attacks took place at locations around Rotherham, including a park, in a supermarket car park, a cemetery and behind a children’s nursery.In one case one of the girls was taken to a hotel where she was raped by two men. On another occasion the same girl was locked inside one of her abuser’s homes, raped on at least two occasions, and only managed to escape by climbing out of a window.
The gang were arrested as part of Operation Stovewood – a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
The seven defendants were found guilty following a nine-week trial.
Zoe Becker, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “These seven men knew that these young girls could be exploited – they targeted the victims and, using drugs and alcohol, groomed them for sex.
“These defendants waged a campaign of violence against the two girls, who had to endure some of the most traumatic abuse on multiple occasions."
The guilty verdicts mean that 33 people have now been convicted of offences uncovered by Operation Stovewood.
The operation is the single largest investigation of its kind in the UK, with more than 1,150 potential victims identified.
NCA senior investigating officer Stuart Cobb said: “The evidence we heard from these victims was some of the most harrowing we have come across, and the offences involved some of the most serious yet investigated by officers working on Operation Stovewood.
“I pay tribute to the bravery of these two victims in coming forward and telling their stories. It was key to getting these convictions and I hope they feel that justice has finally been done.
“What happened to them was appalling. Their attackers were cruel, manipulative men, who thought it was fine to take advantage of vulnerable young girls and dehumanise their victims in the worst possible ways."
The seven men will be sentenced on 12 and 13 September.
Abid Saddiq is already serving a 20-year prison sentence having been convicted in 2019 of sexual offences.
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