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| Rochdale gang guilty of raping and abusing girls for five years | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Mohammed Zahid, who led the gang, was known as "Boss Man" and worked on Rochdale market | |
| Seven men have been found guilty of sexually exploiting two teenage girls who were repeatedly raped and assaulted in Rochdale for five years. | Seven men have been found guilty of sexually exploiting two teenage girls who were repeatedly raped and assaulted in Rochdale for five years. |
| The gang was convicted at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court of various sexual offences against the girls between 2001 and 2006. | The gang was convicted at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court of various sexual offences against the girls between 2001 and 2006. |
| The victims were groomed from the age of 13 and treated as "sex slaves", being expected to "have sex with the men whenever and wherever they wanted", the trial heard. | The victims were groomed from the age of 13 and treated as "sex slaves", being expected to "have sex with the men whenever and wherever they wanted", the trial heard. |
| Jurors deliberated for three weeks before delivering their unanimous guilty verdicts. | Jurors deliberated for three weeks before delivering their unanimous guilty verdicts. |
| The court heard that both girls had "deeply troubled home lives" and were plied with drugs, alcohol and cigarettes and given places to stay. | The court heard that both girls had "deeply troubled home lives" and were plied with drugs, alcohol and cigarettes and given places to stay. |
| The abusers worked on market stalls or were taxi drivers. | |
| Three of them, Mohammed Zahid, 64, the leader of the gang, Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Kasir Bashir, 50, were stallholders on the town's indoor market. | |
| Father-of-three Zahid, who was known as Boss Man, gave free underwear from his lingerie stall to both complainants. | Father-of-three Zahid, who was known as Boss Man, gave free underwear from his lingerie stall to both complainants. |
| Mohammed Shahzad, Mushtaq Ahmed and Kasir Bashir denied the offences against them | |
| He also gifted them with money, alcohol and food in return for the expectation of regular sex with him and his friends, the court heard. | He also gifted them with money, alcohol and food in return for the expectation of regular sex with him and his friends, the court heard. |
| In 2016, Zahid was jailed for five years in an earlier grooming gang case after he engaged in sexual activity in 2006 with a 15-year-old girl who he met when she visited his stall to buy tights for school. | In 2016, Zahid was jailed for five years in an earlier grooming gang case after he engaged in sexual activity in 2006 with a 15-year-old girl who he met when she visited his stall to buy tights for school. |
| Bashir did not attend the current trial after he absconded while on bail before the trial got under way. | |
| It can also be reported that Mohammed Shahzad, 44, Naheem Akram, 48, and Nisar Hussain, 41, were remanded in custody in January. | |
| Police received intelligence that the three taxi drivers, who were born in Rochdale, were planning to leave the UK and had already paid a deposit for their transport, the court heard. | |
| Nisar Hussain, Roheez Khan and Naheem Akram have all been convicted following the trial | |
| The seventh defendant Roheez Khan, 39, also featured in another previous Rochdale grooming trial in 2013. | |
| He was one of five men convicted of sexually exploiting a "profoundly vulnerable" 15-year-old girl in 2008 and 2009. | |
| Khan was jailed for six-and-a-half years for engaging in sexual activity with a child and witness intimidation. | |
| During the trial, a second jury was required after concerns that one original juror - thought to be an ex-police officer - could be racist. | |
| The prosecution did not oppose the application and a second jury was sworn in shortly after. |