Seven men have been convicted of a series of sexual offences in the biggest prosecution of a Rotherham grooming gang by the National Crime Agency. The group targeted five vulnerable schoolgirls, using drugs and alcohol to rape and sexually assault their victims between 1998 and 2005, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
One girl, aged about 14 at the time, was forced by her parents to have an abortion after being raped by a group of men in a forest. Another told how she had been exploited by “100 Asian men” by the age of 16. The trial is part of the National Crime Agency’s Operation Stovewood investigation into child sexual exploitation in the South Yorkshire town.
Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar, a 37-year-old delivery driver, was described by detectives as the ringleader. He targeted teenage girls from troubled backgrounds, including two sisters who had been effectively abandoned by their parents. Akhtar was 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 charge of sexual assault.
Other convicted men include Tanweer Ali, 37, who sexually assaulted one of the girls numerous times between 1998 and 2001. Nabeel Kurshid, 39, and Iqlak Yousaf, 34, were among a number of men who raped a girl in Sherwood Forest when she was about 14. The court heard she became pregnant and was forced by her parents to have a termination. Two other defendants, Asif Ali (33) and a seventh man who cannot be named, were also convicted.
The £90 million Operation Stovewood inquiry, examining offences between 1997 and 2013, has identified 1,523 potential victims and is investigating allegations against 426 people. So far, 14 people have been convicted under the operation. The defendants were remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 16 November.
