Rotherham child sexual abuse: Six men jailed

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-46222421

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Six men have been jailed for their part in the grooming and sexual abuse of five young girls in Rotherham.

The men subjected the girls to "degrading and violent" acts using drink, drugs and the "excitement of friendship" to lure them in.

One girl told a trial how she had sex with "at least 100 Asian men" by the time she was 16, while another described being gang-raped in a forest.

The gang was sentenced to between 14 and 23 years at Sheffield Crown Court.

The gang, who are all of British Pakistani heritage, targeted and groomed the girls over seven years.

The court heard they "destroyed" them and that their childhood had been taken from them.

Sentencing them, Judge Sarah Wright told the men: "Each of the complainants in this case were groomed, coerced and intimidated. Each of them was groomed. Each of you, groomed.

"You can have been in no doubt that the complainants were vulnerable in the extreme."

The victims described being taken to locations across Rotherham including a tip in Rawmarsh, a supermarket car park, and at Clifton Park and Ulley Country Park.

One girl, who was 14 at the time, was given cannabis and driven to Sherwood Forest by Nabeel Kurshid, Iqlak Yousaf and a third man.

The men then took turns raping her, warning her that if she did not do as she was told she would be left there.

Another said Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar regularly threatened to dump her in remote locations if she did not have sex with him and his friends, and on one occasion, he abandoned her by the side of a motorway.

The same girl said Akhtar would take her to meet older Asian taxi drivers, who would then abuse her.

Another recounted how as Tanweer Ali raped her in the back of a car he told her: "It's better you just get it over and done with and then you can go back home".

Judge Wright added: "You were clearly not immature evidenced by the fact you all indulged in cynical manipulation and exploitation of your victims, which showed a maturity well beyond your chronological age.

"They continue to suffer considerable trauma and will continue to suffer throughout their lives as a result of your actions."

The convicted men:

A seventh man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced at a later date after being convicted of two counts of rape.