Seven men have been found guilty of ra_ing and se*ually assaulting two teenage girls in Rotherham in the early 2000s.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?
The girls, aged between 11 and 16 at the time, were groomed and often plied with alcohol or cannabis before being ra*ped or se_ually assaulted, the National Crime Agency said.
The girls would often be collected by their abusers from their childhood homes and attacks took place in locations around Rotherham, including a park, a cemetery, and even behind a children‘s nursery.
COURT HEARD
The jury was told how one of the girls was taken to a hotel where she was raped by two men.
The same girl was locked inside one of her abusers’ homes where she was raped on at least two occasions before escaping by climbing out of a window.
It comes as part of Operation Stovewood, the NCA’s huge investigation into child se*ual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. Offences in this case involved ‘some of the most serious yet investigated’ by police officers, the NCA confirmed.
COURT RULING
The seven men were found guilty of a series of offences on Wednesday following a nine-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
Mohammed Amar, 42, of Elizabeth Way, Rotherham, was found guilty of two counts of indecently assaulting an 11-year-old girl.
Yasser Ajaibe, 39, of Walter Street, Rotherham, was found guilty of indecently assaulting an 11-year-old girl.
Mohammed Zameer Sadiq, 49, of Richard Road, Rotherham, was found guilty of r_pe and se*ual intercourse with a girl under 13 years old.
Mohammed Siyab, 44, of Stevenson Drive, Rotherham, was found guilty of two counts of ra_e, sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 years and trafficking within the UK for se*ual exploitation.
Abid Saddiq, 43, formerly of Rotherham, was found guilty of three counts of r_pe, including one of a girl under 13, and indecently assaulting a 12-year-old girl.
Tahir Yasin, 38, of Burngreave Street, Sheffield, was found guilty of eight counts of r*pe.
Ramin Bari, 37, of Derby Street, Sheffield, was found guilty of four counts of r*pe.
They will be sentenced on September 12 and 13 at the same court.
The prosecution follows a five-year investigation by officers from the NCA’s Operation Stovewood, which is the UK‘s biggest investigation into child abuse.
