The West Yorkshire Police have revealed that twenty members of a grooming gang have been sentenced to a collective 277 years behind bars over the sexual exploitation of young girls in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Following the conclusion of six separate trials, which began at the Leeds Crown Court in July 2023, court reporting restrictions have finally been lifted on the cases against 20 people involved in the sexual exploitation of young girls in Kirklees.
The West Yorkshire Police said that the grooming offences were largely committed in Batley and Dewsbury against three girls, including one who was just 12 years old when she was first sexually exploited by the group. The force said the offences occurred between 1995 and 2003.
DCI Rob Stevens of Kirklees District Police said they came as a 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 that the victims were “repeatedly sexually assaulted” and in some cases given Class A drugs by their abusers. He said that juries in the trials heard “some shocking revelations about the dreadful way victims were abused by those involved.”
“They were repeatedly sexually assaulted, in some cases given Class A drugs, and very much treated as commodities for the gratification of heartless predators,” he said.
Those convicted included: --->READ MORE HERE
A grooming gang predominantly made up of Asian men has been jailed for a combined 277 years following a major investigation into abuse against girls as young as 12.
Twenty people aged between 45 and 87 were snared following the investigation into offences committed in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, between 1995 and 2003.
West Yorkshire Police said the gang had repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped the girls, some of whom were given class A drugs.
A leading investigator in the case said the children had been treated as 'commodities for the gratification of heartless predators' - but praised the bravery of the survivors in coming forward to report the horrors they had endured.
Proceedings began at Leeds Crown Court in July 2023 but were spread across six separate criminal trials owing to the complexity of the investigation.
The last of the cases concluded in September 2024, with sentencing taking place last year. However, court orders have prevented the release of the details of those jailed until now.
Among those jailed was Ansar Mahmood Qayum, 49, who was sentenced to 20 years in jail for four rapes and an indecent assault in another case just over two years ago.
He was given another 10 years for three further rapes and two further indecent assaults, taking his total prison time up to 30 years.
The longest sentence was handed to monstrous Sajid Majid, 53, from Mirfield , for five offences of rape and three indecent assaults.
Manaf Hussain, 51, from Heckmondwike, was sentenced to 25 years for six counts of rape and supplying class A drugs; Tariq Azam, aged 57, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 24 years for five offences of rape and four offences of indecent assault.
Zulfiqar Ali, aged 47, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 22 years, six months for four offences of rape, while Aurrangzeb Azam, aged 56, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 20 years for ten offences of rape and an offence of indecent assault.
Shakeel Haq, aged 58, from Birmingham, was sentenced to 19 years for three offences of rape and an offence of false imprisonment; Rafiq Patel, aged 73, from Batley was sentenced to 18 years for two offences of rape. --->READ MORE HERE
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