Five men jailed for rape of 15-year-old girl

The five men jailed for rape of 15-year-old girl

Five men have been jailed for a total of 26 and a half year for the rape of a 15 year-old-girl in Rochdale.

Many of her abusers plied her with vodka and cannabis before committing their offences, which took place in 2008 and 2009, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

The victim, now 20, told police in 2008 Freddie Kendakumana, 27, of Illminster, Rochdale, raped her but he was not charged until October 2012.

• Kendakumana has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. He was found guilty of rape and sexual activity with a child under 16 at an earlier hearing. 
• Roheez Khan (born 20/12/1985), of Prince Street, Rochdale, has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison. He was found guilty of sexual activity with a child under 16 at an earlier hearing and witness intimidation. 
• Chola Chansa (born 25/12/1979), of Illminster, Rochdale has been sentenced to five years in prison. He pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child under 16 at an earlier hearing. 
• Abdul Huk (born 28/05/1976), of Ouldfield Close, Rochdale has been sentenced to four years in prison. He was found guilty of sexual activity with a child under 16 at an earlier hearing. 
• Mohammed Rafiq Abubaker (born 24/12/1980), of Allington, Freehold, Rochdale has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He was found guilty of sexual activity with a child under 16 at an earlier hearing. 

All five defendants were also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

It is understood that the men come from a range of nationalities.

Kendakumana and Chansa are from Congo, Abubaker is a Kurd, while Huk and Khan are believed to be of Pakistani heritage.

Throughout the course of the teenager’s life she met these men, who all went on to sexually exploit her.

The exploitation began in 2008 when she entered into a series of brief relationships with older men she already knew or had been introduced to.

In 2008, the girl complained to police about Kendakumana. She was then told by police in an interview that is was important not to have any further dealings with him but she later confessed that she had seen him at a flat. She then went on to have consensual sex with one of his friends, although the man in question knew she was under age.

Kendakumana was later arrested and charged in 2012 after the original investigation against him was dropped.

By the time the men were arrested and charged, the girl in question had undergone numerous police interviews totalling 23 hours. This occurred between the end of 2008 and October 2011.

The victim gave evidence during the trials of the five men earlier this year.

Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Daniels said: “Over the course of two years these five men took advantage of this girl for their own sexual gratification.

“Each of the men preyed on the fact she was an extremely vulnerable and impressionable teenager.

“They groomed her by offering her alcohol and drugs and correctly perceived she was easy to flatter and gave her the attention she lacked from her home life.

“This girl did not realise the abuse was taking place, she thought these men were being kind and affectionate towards her and in some cases she thought she was in a genuine consensual relationship with them.

“She regularly returned to a number of older men, including the five men convicted, they all sexually exploited her and some of them physically abused her.

“Four of these men denied their guilt and forced this brave young woman to sit through two trials lasting nearly nine weeks, reliving her experiences over again.

“I hope that today she can try to put her past behind her knowing justice has been done and I want to pay tribute to her strength of character as she looks to move forward with her life.”

The sentencing comes on the same day Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children's Board published a report highlighting a "shocking" inability to protect seven vulnerable girls from sexual exploitation.

This latest case was reopened after GMP's sexual crime unit highlighted failings with the initial investigation as part of Operation Span, which took a fresh look at allegations from other under-age girls in the Rochdale area.