Operation Stovewood: Seven jailed for abuse of two girls in Rotherham
Seven members of a child grooming gang who abused two young girls in Rotherham have been given combined prison sentences of more than 100 years.
Mohammed Amar, 42, Mohammed Siyab, 44, Yasser Ajaibe, 39, Mohammed Zameer Sadiq, 49, Abid Saddiq, 43, Tahir Yassin, 38, and Ramin Bari, 37, were jailed at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday and Friday.
The court heard their victims were aged 11 and 15 and were in care when the abuse started in the early 2000s.
A nine-week trial heard how they were picked up in cars and given cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis and money.
They would then be assaulted, forced to perform sexual acts or raped.
Facing her attackers in court, one of the victims told them: "You took my childhood and innocence from me."
The woman said she had been abused by 150 men by the age of 16.
"I was angry with the world and felt no one wanted to help me," she said.
"My mum was screaming for help but no one helped - I was just a problem child. I lost trust in everyone around me. You ruined my life - I won't let you ruin my future.
"I'm a fighter but most of all I'm a survivor and I am thriving and fighting to reclaim my childhood. You won't ever, and can't ever, take anything from me ever again. You stole my childhood and I'm taking your freedom. I am your karma."The second victim's personal statement was read out by the prosecution. In it, she said: "All I wanted was to be loved and part of a family."
The prosecution was part of Operation Stovewood, the major investigation into child sexual abuse and exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
It followed the publication of the Jay Report in 2014, which found at least 1,400 girls had been trafficked and abused in the town.
The seven defendants were given a a combined total of 106 years' imprisonment.
Saddiq was already serving a 20-year sentence relating to a separate case.
Zoe Becker, solicitor for the Crown Prosecution Service, described the abuse and cruelty to victims as "horrific".
She said: “These seven men deliberately preyed on two young girls they knew were vulnerable and, using drugs and alcohol, exploited them for their own sexual gratification."
National Crime Agency senior investigator Stuart Cobb paid tribute to the bravery of the victims.
He said: “What happened to them can never be undone, but I hope the sentences handed down here will at least give them a sense that their abusers have been held to account and justice has been done."
He described the men as cruel, manipulative and having committed "some of the worst offending" investigated by Operation Stovewood.
The sentences
Saddiq, formerly of Rotherham, was found guilty of indecent assault of a girl aged 12, rape of a girl under the age of 13 and two further counts of rape. He was jailed for a total of 24 years with one year to be served on extended licence.
Amar, of Elizabeth Way, Rotherham, was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault on a girl aged 11 and sentenced to 14 years in prison, plus two years on licence. He was found not guilty of one count of indecent assault.
Siyab, of Stevenson Drive, Rotherham, was found guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl aged under 13 and two counts of rape. He was also found guilty of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation. He was jailed for a total of 24 years with one year to be served on extended licence.
Sadiq, of Richard Road, Rotherham, was found guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13 and rape. He was jailed for 15 years and given one year on licence.
Bari, of Batemoor Road, Sheffield, was found guilty of four counts of rape and jailed for nine years.
Yasin, of Burngreave Street, Sheffield, was found guilty of eight counts of rape and jailed for 13 years.
Ajaibe, of Walter Street, Rotherham, was found guilty of indecent assault of a girl aged 11 and jailed for six years, with one year to be served on licence.