A jury has been sworn in for the trial of six men accused of historic sexual offences allegedly committed against three girls in Rochdale. Tahir Rashid, 55, Mohammed Saleem, 47, Sucklane Shah, 47, Amjad Mahmood, 54, Iftaq Hussain, 46, and Arshad Mohammed, 56, deny all the charges they face.
The trial at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester is due to begin tomorrow, August 26, when jurors are set to hear the prosecution's opening speech. The complainants are referred to as Girl A, Girl B and Girl C for legal reasons.
Defendant unfit to stand trial
Jurors have heard that Mr Mahmood is unfit to stand trial and is not present in the dock. Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones told the jury that Mr Mahmood is 'in hospital outside of the country receiving treatment for a complex psychiatric illness'.
The judge said that in due course, instead of the standard guilty or not guilty verdict, jurors will have to consider whether he 'committed the alleged act' and also 'whether he did so in circumstances where the alleged complainant didn't consent to the penetration'.
Judge warns against group chats
The judge also told jurors that he would 'strongly discourage' them from setting up a group chat between themselves. While he said some juries set up group chats to discuss logistic issues, he warned them that material discussing the case in such a group would be prohibited.
The judge said: "Anything being exchanged within that group about the case itself is something which would be prohibited by the rules." A jury of 12 people and two alternate jurors were sworn in today, August 25.
Charges against the defendants
Mr Rashid, of Hudsons Walk, Rochdale, denies 12 counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault and one count of assault by penetration. The charges include allegations against all three complainants.
Mr Saleem, of Bradley Smithy Close, Rochdale, denies eight counts of rape allegedly committed against Girl A. Mr Shah, of Crawford Street, Rochdale, denies two counts of rape allegedly committed against Girl A.
Mr Mohammed, of Merefield Street, Rochdale, denies four counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration. The charges include allegations against Girl A and Girl B. Mr Hussain, of Hey Street, Rochdale, denies three counts of rape allegedly committed against Girl A.
Mr Mahmood, of Channing Street, Rochdale, denies 11 counts of rape, two counts of indecency with a child, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of indecent assault. The charges include allegations against Girl A and Girl B. The trial is proceeding.
