LONDON
A UK court on Wednesday jailed seven members of a “grooming gang” for between 12 to 35 years for using two teenage girls as “sex slaves,” the latest sentences handed down in a decades-long scandal.
The Crime and Convictions
All the men, who are of South Asian descent, targeted and groomed at least two vulnerable white teenage girls in Rochdale, near Manchester in northwest England. They then repeatedly raped the victims over a five-year period starting in 2001.
- Trial Details: A jury hearing the four-month trial in Manchester found all seven guilty in June of rape and dozens of other offences, with both victims providing evidence in court. Jurors heard the girls were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses.”
- The Sentences:
- Mohammed Zahid (65): The longest sentence of 35 years went to market stallholder Mohammed Zahid, a father-of-three. He provided both teenagers with free underwear from his lingerie stall, along with money, alcohol, and food, expecting regular sex with himself and his friends in return.
- The Manchester resident was found guilty of 20 offences, including rape, indecency with a child, and attempting to procure unlawful sexual intercourse from a girl.
- Mushtaq Ahmed (67) and Kasir Bashir (50): Fellow Rochdale market traders from Oldham, Mushtaq Ahmed and Kasir Bashir, received jail terms of 27 years and 29 years, respectively. Both were convicted of offences including rape and indecency with a child.
- Notably, Bashir, who had absconded before the trial began, was sentenced in absentia (in his absence).
- Mohammed Zahid (65): The longest sentence of 35 years went to market stallholder Mohammed Zahid, a father-of-three. He provided both teenagers with free underwear from his lingerie stall, along with money, alcohol, and food, expecting regular sex with himself and his friends in return.
