Seven men guilty of sexually exploiting vulnerable teenagers in Rotherham
The charges include rape, sexual assault and false imprisonment
Last updated 29th Oct 2018
A gang of seven men have been found guilty of the horrifying sexual abuse of girls as young as 13 in Rotherham.
Sheffield Crown Court's heard five teenagers were "groomed and exploited" by the men who plied with them alcohol and drugs and made them perform sexual acts between 1998 and 2005.
One victim said she'd slept with at least 100 Aisan men by the time she was 16.
The girls were lured by the excitement of friendship with older Asian youths and then sexually assaulted and passed between men.
It's the biggest conviction yet from the National Crime Agency's investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, Operation Stoveweood.
Operation Stovewood Senior Investigating Officer, Paul Williamson said:
"The victims and survivors were in their teens when they were targeted and subjected to acts of degrading and violent exploitation and have had to wait a long time for justice which – after a herculean effort over the last three years by my officers - has been delivered today.
“I would like to thank partners for their support - particularly the Independent Sexual Violence Advocates (ISVAs) and want to reassure victims and survivors in Rotherham that the NCA remain committed to investigate all matters within our remit to bring child sex offenders to justice."
The Agency reckon there are at least 1500 victims of child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
The men in this trial were convicted of 24 charges in total:
Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar, 37, of Godstone Road, Rotherham - found guilty of one rape, one charge of aiding and abetting rape, three indecent assaults, one charge of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another and one sexual assault.
Nabeel Kurshid, 35, of Weetwood Road, Rotherham - found guilty of two rapes and one indecent assault.
Iqlak Yousaf, 34, of Tooker Road, Rotherham - found guilty of two rapes and two indecent assaults.
Tanweer Ali, 37, of Godstone Road, Rotherham - found guilty of two rapes, two indecent assaults and one charge of false imprisonment.
Salah Ahmed El-Hakam, 39, of Tudor Close, Sheffield - found guilty of one rape.
Asif Ali, 33, of Clough Road, Rotherham - found guilty of two indecent assaults.
An seventh defendant, who cannot be named, was found guilty of two rapes.
An eighth defendant was cleared of all charges.
The men will be sentenced next month.