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| Rotherham grooming ring accused of 51 sexual abuse offences against teenagers | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Five men and two women targeted, sexualised and subjected teenage girls to degrading acts including prostitution and forced sex as part of a major grooming ring in Rotherham uncovered by police, a court has heard. | Five men and two women targeted, sexualised and subjected teenage girls to degrading acts including prostitution and forced sex as part of a major grooming ring in Rotherham uncovered by police, a court has heard. |
| The seven defendants are facing 51 counts of alleged historical sex crimes stretching back almost 30 years against the girls, one under 14 at the time. In an 18-page indictment, the jury learned that the first alleged offence took place in 1987 with the remainder all taking place between 1990 and 2003. | The seven defendants are facing 51 counts of alleged historical sex crimes stretching back almost 30 years against the girls, one under 14 at the time. In an 18-page indictment, the jury learned that the first alleged offence took place in 1987 with the remainder all taking place between 1990 and 2003. |
| Prosecutor Michelle Colborne, QC, said the seven targeted 12 girls, all local and some of them in care. “Some had unsettled home lives, had suffered previous ill treatment or abuse and some who were in local authority care when they were befriended by and subsequently groomed by the defendants,” she said, opening the case in Sheffield crown court. | Prosecutor Michelle Colborne, QC, said the seven targeted 12 girls, all local and some of them in care. “Some had unsettled home lives, had suffered previous ill treatment or abuse and some who were in local authority care when they were befriended by and subsequently groomed by the defendants,” she said, opening the case in Sheffield crown court. |
| In differing ways the seven defendants were said to have “facilitated the sexual abuse of teenage girls”. | In differing ways the seven defendants were said to have “facilitated the sexual abuse of teenage girls”. |
| Arshid Hussain, 40, played a key role in the abuse of the girls, the court heard. He “often prostituted them or passed them on to his brothers or associates”, it is alleged. | Arshid Hussain, 40, played a key role in the abuse of the girls, the court heard. He “often prostituted them or passed them on to his brothers or associates”, it is alleged. |
| “He was domineering and in some instances brutal in his treatment of girls. He used them for his own gratification,” said Colborne. “He was assisted in differing ways by the other defendants, each willingly engaging in exploitative behaviour and using the girls to their own ends.” | “He was domineering and in some instances brutal in his treatment of girls. He used them for his own gratification,” said Colborne. “He was assisted in differing ways by the other defendants, each willingly engaging in exploitative behaviour and using the girls to their own ends.” |
| The trial is the first to have taken place since the Jay report into child exploitation in the Rotherham area was published last year. | The trial is the first to have taken place since the Jay report into child exploitation in the Rotherham area was published last year. |
| The jury heard that Hussain was involved with his brother, Basharat, 38, and a third defendant, Qurban Ali, 53, who was their uncle. Arshid Hussain was known by the girls as “Mad Ash” while his uncle, who walked into the dock with a white stick, was knicknamed “Blind Ash”, she said. | The jury heard that Hussain was involved with his brother, Basharat, 38, and a third defendant, Qurban Ali, 53, who was their uncle. Arshid Hussain was known by the girls as “Mad Ash” while his uncle, who walked into the dock with a white stick, was knicknamed “Blind Ash”, she said. |
| Also in the dock are brothers Sajid Bostan, 38, and Majid Bostan, 37, associates of the Hussain brothers, and two women, Karen MacGregor, 58, and Shelley Davies, 40 who associated with one another and with Ali and Arshid Hussain. | Also in the dock are brothers Sajid Bostan, 38, and Majid Bostan, 37, associates of the Hussain brothers, and two women, Karen MacGregor, 58, and Shelley Davies, 40 who associated with one another and with Ali and Arshid Hussain. |
| All seven deny the charges. The jury heard that the defendants dominated the girls and got them to acquiese to oral sex, sexual intercourse or anal sex, sometimes repeatedly. | All seven deny the charges. The jury heard that the defendants dominated the girls and got them to acquiese to oral sex, sexual intercourse or anal sex, sometimes repeatedly. |
| Explaining how the grooming worked, Colborne told the jury that one of the alleged victims, Girl A, lived in “squalid conditions” in the 1980s and was befriended by Davies, who was just three years older, who took her to stay at MacGregor’s house. Girl A, thought the house was “posh” and “she was made to feel welcome and was fed and clothed”. | Explaining how the grooming worked, Colborne told the jury that one of the alleged victims, Girl A, lived in “squalid conditions” in the 1980s and was befriended by Davies, who was just three years older, who took her to stay at MacGregor’s house. Girl A, thought the house was “posh” and “she was made to feel welcome and was fed and clothed”. |
| The prosecution said “there would always be Asian men in the house in the early hours”. One of these men was “Blind Ash”, it is alleged. A couple of nights after she moved in she was assaulted by an Asian man, the jury was told. | The prosecution said “there would always be Asian men in the house in the early hours”. One of these men was “Blind Ash”, it is alleged. A couple of nights after she moved in she was assaulted by an Asian man, the jury was told. |
| Colborne said Girl A was plied with vodka in the company of MacGregor, Davies and about six men and was then taken upstairs where her lower clothing was removed entirely and she was assaulted by an unknown man. She cried for help twice and he ran from the room but no one came to her aid, the court was told. | Colborne said Girl A was plied with vodka in the company of MacGregor, Davies and about six men and was then taken upstairs where her lower clothing was removed entirely and she was assaulted by an unknown man. She cried for help twice and he ran from the room but no one came to her aid, the court was told. |
| Girl A, who was between 15 and 17 years old at the time and is now 43, told no one about the incident until she reported it this year after seeing allegations about the defendant in the press and on Facebook, the court head. | Girl A, who was between 15 and 17 years old at the time and is now 43, told no one about the incident until she reported it this year after seeing allegations about the defendant in the press and on Facebook, the court head. |
| MacGregor accepted she knew Davies and Blind Ash but denied bringing girls to her house. The prosecution said she was not the kind woman she claimed to be, helping vulnerable girls, but she had “deliberately set out to make girls available for sexual encounters with older men.” | MacGregor accepted she knew Davies and Blind Ash but denied bringing girls to her house. The prosecution said she was not the kind woman she claimed to be, helping vulnerable girls, but she had “deliberately set out to make girls available for sexual encounters with older men.” |
| The alleged ringleader, Arshid Hussain, of East Cowick, Goole, has been charged with 29 offences against nine girls including four counts of rape and 11 counts of indecent assault. He is also charged with buggery, procuring girls for prostitution or unlawful sexual intercourse, aiding and abetting other alleged rapes, abduction of a 15-year-old girl and false imprisonment of another girl. | The alleged ringleader, Arshid Hussain, of East Cowick, Goole, has been charged with 29 offences against nine girls including four counts of rape and 11 counts of indecent assault. He is also charged with buggery, procuring girls for prostitution or unlawful sexual intercourse, aiding and abetting other alleged rapes, abduction of a 15-year-old girl and false imprisonment of another girl. |
| His brother, Basharat Hussain, 38, of no fixed abode, is facing 15 charges including one alleged rape, five indecent assaults, one count of procuring a girl to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another and false imprisonment. | His brother, Basharat Hussain, 38, of no fixed abode, is facing 15 charges including one alleged rape, five indecent assaults, one count of procuring a girl to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another and false imprisonment. |
| He also faces three counts of indecency with a child in relation to a girl who was under 14 at the time of the alleged offences, one count of procuring a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute, two assaults occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of making threats to kill. | He also faces three counts of indecency with a child in relation to a girl who was under 14 at the time of the alleged offences, one count of procuring a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute, two assaults occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of making threats to kill. |
| Sajid Bostan, 38, Broom, denies three counts of rape, two counts of aiding and abetting rape, buggery and one indecent assault of a single girl over 11 years. | Sajid Bostan, 38, Broom, denies three counts of rape, two counts of aiding and abetting rape, buggery and one indecent assault of a single girl over 11 years. |
| Majid Bostan, 37, also of Broom, has been charged with indecent assault over five years of one of the girls who also went to police about Arshid Hussain’s alleged child abuse. He denies all charges. | Majid Bostan, 37, also of Broom, has been charged with indecent assault over five years of one of the girls who also went to police about Arshid Hussain’s alleged child abuse. He denies all charges. |
| The fifth man in the dock, Qurban Ali, 53, from Masborough, faces four charges including rape, indecent assault, and procuring a girl to have unlawful sex with another. He denies all charges. | The fifth man in the dock, Qurban Ali, 53, from Masborough, faces four charges including rape, indecent assault, and procuring a girl to have unlawful sex with another. He denies all charges. |
| He is also charged with alleged involvement in a rape plot with three others – two women and Arshid Hussain. The rape was alleged to have occured at the house of one of the female defendants, Karen MacGregor, 58, from Wath, south Yorkshire. | He is also charged with alleged involvement in a rape plot with three others – two women and Arshid Hussain. The rape was alleged to have occured at the house of one of the female defendants, Karen MacGregor, 58, from Wath, south Yorkshire. |
| MacGregor is facing four charges including false imprisonment of a girl in her house and conspiracy to rape the same girl in a plot involving Ali Hussain and the second woman in the dock, Shelley Davies. She has also been accused of conspiring with another unknown person to rape another girl. | MacGregor is facing four charges including false imprisonment of a girl in her house and conspiracy to rape the same girl in a plot involving Ali Hussain and the second woman in the dock, Shelley Davies. She has also been accused of conspiring with another unknown person to rape another girl. |
| Davies, 40, from Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, is charged with conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to procure a child to become a common prostitute and unlawful imprisonment. Davies and MacGregor deny all charges. | Davies, 40, from Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, is charged with conspiracy to rape, conspiracy to procure a child to become a common prostitute and unlawful imprisonment. Davies and MacGregor deny all charges. |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |