Two Scottish men have denied historical offences relating to the alleged sexual abuse and rape of children as part of a grooming gang operating in South Wales. Nine men aged 54 to 76 were arrested in July as part of an investigation into reports made by women of sexual abuse committed against them as children in the 1980s and 1990s.
Court appearance and pleas
The defendants, who are all British citizens, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday. Six of them entered not guilty pleas to the charges against them.
They will not stand trial for more than a year, with a date set in January 2028 by Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, the Recorder of Cardiff. Those who entered pleas included Mohammed Sheikh Abdul Hannan, 54, of Edinburgh, and Kevin Lawrence, 54, of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute.
Details of the charges
Hannan, whose self-defined ethnicity is British Bangladeshi, pleaded not guilty to one count of indecent assault, two counts of rape, three counts of aiding and abetting rape, and one count of conspiracy to rape. Lawrence, whose self-defined ethnicity is white European, pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to rape and one count of causing prostitution.
Other non-guilty pleas were entered by Shafaq Mohammed, 58, of Birmingham, whose self-defined ethnicity is Asian Pakistani. Syed Mohammad Ashan Taqvi, 65, of Newport, also pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape. His self-defined ethnicity is Asian Pakistani.
Further defendants and bail
Aminur Rahman Choudhury, 58, of Tottenham, north London, appeared before the court. His self-defined ethnicity is Asian Bangladeshi. He pleaded not guilty to one count of rape. Murad Ali, 57, of Swansea, denied two counts of rape. His self-defined ethnicity is Asian Pakistani.
Matthew Cobbe appeared for the prosecution during the hearing on Friday, in which the court heard the trial is expected to last up to 20 weeks. Those who did not enter pleas were Sheikh Mohammed Tahir Ullah, 73, of Newport, whose self-defined ethnicity is Asian Bangladeshi. Gwent Police previously said he is charged with one count of rape of a female aged 16 years or over and one count of rape of a female under 16.
Mohammed Ramzan, 76, of Newport, also made no plea. His self-defined ethnicity is Asian Pakistani. Gwent Police previously said he is charged with seven offences – two counts of rape of a female under 16, three counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16, one count of causing the prostitution of a girl under 16, and one count of conspiring to rape a girl under the age of 16.
Shakeel Babur, 58, of Nelson, Lancashire, made no plea. His self-defined ethnicity is British Pakistani. Gwent Police previously said he is charged with four counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16. The nine men were all released on conditional bail.
