Calls for action over sex gangs

An investigation by The Times into the sexual exploitation of girls has shown an overwhelming number of cases of seduction and serial rape of underage girls carried out by Muslim men of Pakistani origin in the North of England and the Midlands.

The Times identified 17 court prosecutions since 1997 involving the on-street grooming of girls aged 11 to 16 by groups of men - 14 of them were during the past three years, including a teenager from Rochdale who was treated as a ‘sex slave’ by nine men. 

The victims came from 13 towns and cities and in each case two or more men were convicted of offences.

In total, 56 people, with an average age of 28, were found guilty of crimes including rape, child abduction, indecent assault and sex with a child.

Three of the 56 were white, 53 were Asian. Of those, 50 were Muslim and a majority were members of the British Pakistani community.

The Times reports that several police sources say the convictions only represent a small proportion of what one detective described as a “tidal wave” of offending that has been uncovered in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and some Midlands counties.

In the Rochdale case, nine Asian men behind the abuse were jailed.

The men gave the victim drugs and alcohol and forced her to have sex with men for money.

The girl went missing from home in Rochdale on two occasions, first on 16 February and again on 22 February 2008.

The second time she was missing for 11 days - turning up in Rusholme, Manchester. When officers spoke to her she told them she had been sexually exploited by a number of men while she was missing.

Over the following weeks the girl was spoken to by a specialist team of officers. She was able to identify the places she was taken and the men who had abused her.

She had been abused by a number of different men as she went from one vulnerable situation to another. In many cases, the men she was associating with were not linked, but they did all identify the child’s vulnerability and take advantage of her.

The girl was praised by charities across the county for speaking out about her ordeal.

She said: “These people exploit young girls, introduce them to prostitution, feed them drugs and alcohol and tell them they love them. I know this because it has happened to me and it has changed my life enormously. I just hope that people will be more aware of this now and will be able to prevent this from happening to other vulnerable young girls.”

The victim’s parents released the following statement: “We are very proud of our daughter for her courage in assisting Greater Manchester Police with the prosecution of these abusers who caused her such terrible harm. No family should have to endure a nightmare experience like the one we have been through.

"Sadly, we now know that many young and vulnerable teenaged girls are targeted, groomed and abused in this way by such offenders; we support our daughter in hoping that these successful prosecutions will send a message that will help protect other children.”

Another Rochdale case of a similar nature happened in May 2008. A teenage girl was raped four times by an Asian gang who took pictures of the abuse on their mobile phones.

The 16-year-old victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was attacked in the attic room of a house in Rochdale on 28 May 2008.

The girl's mother called her mobile phone after noticing she was missing from their home, only to hear the cries of her daughter on the end of the line.

Her four attackers, aged 17 to 20, pleaded guilty at Bolton Crown Court.

The girl had gone to the house after being called on her mobile.

While there she drank Jack Daniels whiskey and was possibly drugged with some form of sleeping medicine before being sexually assaulted, the court heard.

Ajmal Alfridi, 19, raped the girl twice along with Imitaz Syed, 20, and Tayub Hussain, who each raped the girl once.

Alfridi and Syed sexually assaulted the victim while Mustafa Arshad, 17, took two photos of the abuse on his mobile phone.

In 2009, two men were jailed after repeatedly raping a 17-year old girl in Rochdale in July 2008.

Asylum seekers Mohammed Ali, and Alik Madi, were sentenced at Bolton Crown Court. Both men lived at the same house in Rathbone Street, Newbold.

The victim had been walking close to the Lidl supermarket on Spotland Road in the early hours of Saturday 5 July when the two men dragged her into some bushes and raped her several times.

The result of The Times investigation has resulted in more calls for action to be taken on these gangs.