20 Member Grooming Gang Jailed for Sexually Abuse of Young Girls
West Yorkshire Police have revealed that twenty members of a grooming gang were sentenced to a collective 277 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of young girls in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Following the conclusion of six separate trials, which began at Leeds Crown Court in July 2023, court reporting restrictions have finally been lifted for cases against 20 people involved in the sexual exploitation of young girls in Kirklees.
West Yorkshire Police said the grooming offenses were largely committed in Batley and Dewsbury against three girls, including one who was just 12 when she was first sexually exploited by the group. Police said the offenses occurred between 1995 and 2003.
DCI Rob Stevens of Kirklees District Police said they were the result of a major investigation into the “appalling sexual abuse of vulnerable girls in Kirklees by a large number of sexual predators”.
DCI Stevens said the victims were “repeatedly sexually assaulted” and in some cases their attackers administered Class A drugs. He said trial juries heard “shocking revelations about the appalling way in which the victims were abused by those involved”.
“They were repeatedly sexually assaulted, in some cases given class A drugs, and treated like merchandise for the gratification of heartless predators,” he said.
Among those found guilty were:
Ansar Mahmood Qayum, 49, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 10 years in prison for three offenses of rape and two offenses of indecent assault. This sentence was added to the existing 20 sentences imposed on Qayum in court during a separate trial in another case in 2022, making a total sentence of 30 years.
Sajid Majid, 53, from Mirfield, sentenced to 28 years in prison for five offenses of rape and three offenses of indecent assault.
Manaf Hussain, 51, of Heckmondwike, sentenced to 25 years in prison for six offenses of rape and one offense of supplying class A drugs.
Tariq Azam, 57, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 24 years in prison for five offenses of rape and four offenses of indecent assault.
Zulfiqar Ali, 47, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 22 years and six months for four rape offences.
Aurrangzeb Azam, 56, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 20 years in prison for ten offenses of rape and one offense of indecent assault.
Shakeel Haq, 58, of Birmingham, sentenced to 19 years in prison for three offenses of rape and one offense of false imprisonment.
Rafiq Patel, 73, from Batley, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for two rape offences.
Zaheed Ali Novsarka, 58, from Batley, sentenced to 18 years in prison for two rape offences.
Mohammed Sheikh, 53, from Batley, sentenced to 14 years in prison for two offenses of rape and two offenses of indecent assault.
Mohammed Yasin, 52, from Batley, sentenced to 14 years in prison for rape and two indecent assaults.
Liaquat Hussain Hanif, 49, of Batley, sentenced to 12 years and six months for two offenses of rape and one offense of supplying class A drugs.
Ebrahim Mananiat, 56, from Batley, sentenced to 12 years in prison for two rape offences.
Ibrahim Khalifa, 87, from Bradford, sentenced to 11 years in prison for two rape offences.
Shafiq Siddique, 56, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 11 years in prison for rape.
Mohammed Munir Shaffi, 48, from Dewsbury, sentenced to nine years in prison for two rape offences.
Mohammed Ishtiaq Hussain, 51, from Dewsbury, sentenced to eight years in prison for rape.
Abbas Kaji, 57, from Batley, sentenced to seven years in prison for rape.
Donna Lynn, aged 45, from Cleckheaton, sentenced to three years in prison for the offense of controlling prostitution.
Tasawar Hussain, 46, from Dewsbury, sentenced to three years in prison for rape.
Commenting on the convictions, DCI Stevens said: “The very long prison sentences handed down to some of these men, such as the 28 year prison sentence for Sajid Majid or the 20 year prison sentence imposed on Aurrangzeb Azam who was convicted of 10 separate rapes, speak volumes about their depravity and the abuse inflicted on the victims in this case.
“Again, it cannot be emphasized more strongly that the reason these terrible offenses have come to light is the courage of the victims who came forward and reported the offenses they suffered. West Yorkshire Police makes every effort to support victims of sexual abuse, but we realize how difficult it can be to report and then sustain a prosecution.
“These women have shown immense courage in giving evidence during lengthy trials and I hope they can feel a sense of pride in their determination to see justice done and in seeing people who have no place in society put behind bars. »
The latest convictions come amid an ongoing national investigation into the grooming gang scandal. While Prime Minister Starmer had initially rejected such an investigation, an independent report by Dame Louise Casey, which confirmed that the offenses were mainly carried out by Pakistani Muslims against young white working-class girls and that the offenses had been ignored by authorities for fear of being seen as racist, intensified public pressure and an inquiry with statutory powers to compel testimony was finally approved last year.
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