Eight men found GUILTY in Rotherham abuse trial
Eight men have been convicted for their part in the sexual abuse of three 13 year-old girls in Rotherham between 1999 and 2003.
Eight men have been found guilty of charges relating to child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1999 and 2003.
The men, who hung around in Rotherham town centre, exploited three victims who suffered shocking sexual abuse at the age of just 13.
The girls - who cannot be named for legal reasons - were given alcohol, drugs and alcohol and became friendly with the men, who were all several years older than them at the time.
The girls were made to feel like they were in debt to the men, and couldn't refuse when asked for sex.
They were raped, assaulted and locked in rooms against their will.
"They were going to do what they were going to do - no was not an option," one victims said about the abuse she suffered at the hands of the group.
"I was a child and they were men."
One of the victims was forced to move to Spain in 2005 to escape her abusers.
The ringleader of the group was Sageer Hussain who was said to have a "controlling influence" over the rest of the men.
Some of the charges against him were originally raised by one of the victims in 2003 shortly after the incidents happened.
Hussain was arrested at the time but the victim dropped the charges and he was released.
The victim came back to the police with more information about the incidents in 2013.
Speaking after the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Martin Tate said:
"The verdicts today are of massive importance to the young women who have come forward to report years of horrific sexual abuse at the hands of these criminals.
"They had to endure what no child should and have shown remarkable bravery throughout our inquiry. From coming forward to officers, to providing video and written interviews, through to reliving their traumatic and awful abuse before the jury, they have carried themselves with composure and dignity.
"I am so grateful to these women, many of whom remain incredibly vulnerable, for offering their support to our investigative team and I am so pleased that their voices have been heard and their abusers have been held to account for their vile crimes."
Reacting to the verdicts this afternoon Sarah Champion, MP for Rotherham, said:
"I would firstly like to state my absolute admiration and thanks to the survivors for coming forward. These young women have been trying for years to be heard, now a judge, and indeed the country, has heard the horror you endured and justice has been served. Their courage and bravery will inspire others and we should all be grateful for that.
"Today’s verdict has hopefully given closure for the three survivors. But we should not rest until we have justice for every survivor of child sexual abuse in Rotherham and across the UK. More than that, we need to focus our efforts on preventing future abuse, not just see it as inevitable.
I would like to thank the police for their hard work in forensically piecing together information, some of it decades old, and the CPS for pursuing a successful prosecution."
The 8 men convicted:
Sageer Hussain, 30, has been found guilty of four counts of rape and one count of indecent assault.
Muhammaed Whied, 32, has been found guilty of one count of aiding and abetting rape
Ishtiaq Khaliq, 33, has been found guilty of one count of rape, and three counts of indecent assault
Waleed Ali, 34, has has been found guilty of one count of rape and one count of indecent assault
Asif Ali, 30, found guilty of one count of rape.
Masoued Malik, 32, has been found guilty of one count of rape, one count of conspiracy to commit indecent assault, and one count of false imprisonment
Basharat Hussain, 40, has been found guilty of one count of indecent assault
Naeem Rafiq, 33, has been found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit indecent assault and one count of false imprisonment.
The men will appear before Sheffield Crown Court on 4th November to be sentenced.