Jury told not to speculate on absence of Rochdale grooming trial defendant
The jury in the trial of seven Asian men accused of treating two teenage girls in Rochdale as "sex slaves" have been told "not to speculate" why one of them is not in the dock.
The prosecution allege that the complainants were groomed from the age of 13 to have sex with the men "whenever and wherever they wanted", between 2001 and 2006.
The defendants all deny various sexual offence, including rape and indecent assault.
One of the accused, Kasir Bashir, 50, has not attended the trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
It is alleged the former stallholder on Rochdale Market raped one of the complainants, Girl B, on multiple occasions at a house in Chadderton, Oldham, along with several others.
Bashir, of Napier Street East, Oldham, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of indecency with a child.
In his closing speech to the jury on Monday 12 May, his barrister Shahnawaz Khan said it was his client's case that Bashir had consensual sex with Girl B on a sole occasion but was not involved with any sexual activity at the address in Chadderton.
Mr Khan reminded the jury of the 'very comprehensive' directions previously given to them by Judge Jonathan Seely.
Mr Khan said: 'You are not to speculate why Mr Bashir is not here.
'His absence does not count against him.
'He is still entitled to a fair trial. You must consider the case on the evidence and on the evidence alone.'
The other defendants on trial are Mohammed Zahid, 64, of Station Road, Crumpsall, Manchester; Naheem Akram, 48, of Manley, Road, Rochdale; Mohammed Shahzad, 44, of Beswicke Royds Street, Rochdale; Nisar Hussain, 41, of Newfield Close, Rochdale; Roheez Khan, 39, of Athole Street, Rochdale; and Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, of Corona Avenue, Oldham.
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Scottish Sun
17 hours ago
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National inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal finally ordered by Keir Starmer in another Labour U-turn
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Powys County Times
2 days ago
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She told local children's services in 2004 that she was 'hanging around' with groups of older men, drinking and taking cannabis, the court heard. Giving evidence, Girl B said she was living in a local children's home when she was preyed on by market traders Mohammed Zahid, 64; Mushtaq Ahmed, 67; and Kasir Bashir, 50 – all born in Pakistan – who were stallholders on the town's indoor market. She said she presumed various agencies knew what was going on as police regularly picked her up after social workers labelled her a 'prostitute'. Girl B told the hearing she had since read her file held by Rochdale social services which, she said, stated she had been selling herself for sex from the age of 10. Following the verdicts, Sharon Hubber, Rochdale Borough Council's director of children's services, said: 'We know that these convictions are unlikely to erase the memories of the abuse these women were subjected to as children, but we hope they do bring some form of closure. 'We know that more could and should have been done by the people who were working here at the time, and for that we are truly sorry.' Detective Superintendent Alan Clitherow, of Greater Manchester Police, said: 'There was information at the time that police and other agencies could, and should, have done something with and we didn't. 'The way those victims were dealt with at the time is indefensible and inexcusable. 'We have made comprehensive apologies for that. We're not perfect but we are very much improving now on how we manage these investigations.' Assistant Chief Constable Steph Parker added: 'I know that our past failings have meant there are people who doubt the police's commitment today to putting grooming gangs behind bars where they belong. 'Let me be clear – time is no barrier to justice, and we are actively working with dozens of survivors on numerous investigations to ensure no offender gets away with this. When you are ready, we will listen. 'Our dedicated, child sexual exploitation, major investigations team has almost 100 investigators working every day to listen to victims and to bring cases to court.' Father-of-three Zahid – known as Boss Man – gave free underwear from his lingerie stall to both complainants and also money, alcohol and food in return for the expectation of regular sex with him and his friends. In 2016, Zahid was jailed for five years in an earlier grooming gang case after he engaged in sexual activity in 2006 with a 15-year-old girl whom he met when she visited his stall to buy tights for school. Bashir did not attend the current trial as jurors were ordered not to speculate why but it can be revealed that he absconded while on bail before the trial got under way. Police are actively seeking Bashir and say they are 'determined to find him no matter where he thinks he can hide'. 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After three weeks of deliberations by the jury, Zahid, of, Station Road, Crumpsall, was convicted of raping Girl A and Girl B, who did not know each other, on multiple occasions. Jurors also found him guilty of offences of indecency with a child and procuring a child to have sex. Ahmed, of Corona Avenue, Oldham; and Bashir, of Napier Street East, Oldham; were convicted of multiple counts of rape and indecency with a child, in relation to Girl B. Shahzad, of Beswicke Royds Street, Rochdale; Akram, of Manley Road, Rochdale; and Hussain, of New Field Close, Rochdale; were convicted of multiple counts of rape against Girl A. Roheez Khan, of Athole Street, Rochdale, was found guilty of a single count of rape against Girl A. Judge Seely told the men they all faced 'lengthy' prison sentences as he remanded them in custody ahead of sentencing on a date to be fixed. 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The Guardian
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Seven men who groomed and treated as 'sex slaves' two vulnerable teenage girls in Rochdale have been found guilty of multiple sex offences. A long running trial in Manchester heard that the men subjected the girls to years of misery and expected them to have sex with them 'whenever and wherever they wanted'. Both girls had deeply troubled home lives and were given drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, places to stay and people to be with, a jury heard. The crimes took place in filthy flats, on rancid mattresses, in cars, car parks, alleyways, disused warehouses and moors, the court was told. The crimes all happened, prosecutor Rossano Scamardella KC told a jury at Manchester Minshull Street crown court, 'under the noses of social workers and others who should have done far more to protect them'. After a four-month trial and three weeks of deliberation a jury on Friday returned unanimous guilty verdicts for 50 offences committed between 2001 and 2006. After the verdicts DCI Guy Laycock, the senior investigating officer on the case, paid tribute to the two survivors, known throughout the trial as Girl A and Girl B. 'They have been pivotal in bringing these abusers to long-awaited justice by bravely giving painful and difficult testimony during a four-month trial,' he said. 'Without them this would not be possible and today is about them. 'These seven men preyed on vulnerability for their own depraved sexual gain. The men abused, degraded and then discarded the victims when they were just children. This horrific abuse knew no limits, despite their denials throughout this lengthy investigation and court case. 'They had a callous disregard for these women when they were girls, and continue to show no remorse for their unforgivable actions all these years later.' Three of the abusers, Mohammed Zahid, 64, Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Kasir Bashir, 50 – all born in Pakistan – were stallholders on Rochdale's indoor market. Zahid, a father of three who was known as Boss or Bossman, gave free underwear from his lingerie stall to both survivors and also money, alcohol and food and in return expected them to have regular sex with him and his friends. In 2016, Zahid was jailed for five years in an earlier grooming gang case after he engaged in sexual activity in 2006 with a 15-year-old girl who he met when she visited his stall to buy tights for school. Bashir did not attend the current trial and jurors were ordered not to speculate why. It can be revealed that he absconded while on bail before the trial got under way. It can also be reported that co-defendants Mohammed Shahzad, 44, Naheem Akram, 48, and Nisar Hussain, 41, were remanded in custody with their bail revoked in January before the jury was sworn in. Police received intelligence that the three Rochdale-born taxi drivers were planning to leave the UK and had already paid a deposit for their transport, the court heard. All three denied the accusation but Judge Jonathan Seely said the court was not prepared to take a risk that they too would abscond. A seventh defendant, Pakistani-born Roheez Khan, 39, was also convicted in a previous Rochdale grooming trial. In 2013 he was one of five men convicted of sexually exploiting a 'profoundly vulnerable' 15-year-old girl in 2008 and 2009. He was jailed for six-and-a-half years for engaging in sexual activity with a child and witness intimidation. Girl A told the jury she could have been targeted by more than 200 offenders but said 'there was that many it was hard to keep count'. The trial heard that Girl B was labelled a 'prostitute' from the age of 10 by social workers in Rochdale. Giving evidence, she said that social workers raised concerns with her that she may be having sex with Asian men. 'They said I was a prostitute. I was prostituting myself … I don't remember them being concerned enough to do anything about it. 'I remember knowing that they knew what was going on.' All the perpetrators were prosecuted as part of Operation Lytton, an ongoing investigation since 2015 by Greater Manchester police into non-recent child sexual exploitation in Rochdale. Thirty-seven individuals have been charged so far, with five more trials scheduled to take place from September onwards. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
