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The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Seven men who groomed vulnerable girls in Rochdale guilty of multiple sex offences
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
Times
a day ago
- Times
I was labelled a prostitute, says girl abused by grooming gang
By the time she turned 13, Girl B had lived in foster care and several children's homes for five years. At Martin Lane Children's Home, in Rochdale, staff knew that the girl frequently met with older men, some speaking 'Asian languages', who gave her alcohol and drugs. But the men did more. From 2001 to 2003 two market stall owners and one shop owner groomed, raped and abused Girl B in a basement and flats around Rochdale. Another teenager, Girl A, was raped and sexually assaulted by one of the market stall owners and a further four men, mainly taxi drivers, on many occasions between 2004 and 2006. A jury at Manchester Minshull Street crown court found all seven men guilty of 50 charges including rape, gross indecency, indecency with a child, indecent assault and procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse.
ITV News
12-05-2025
- ITV News
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.
The Independent
14-02-2025
- The Independent
Girl, 10, labelled ‘prostitute' by social services, grooming gang trial hears
A teenage grooming gang victim allegedly used as a 'sex slave' by Asian men in Rochdale was labelled a 'prostitute' from the age of 10 by social services, a court heard. The victim, now in her 30s, who had been in care as a youngster, had read her file held by Rochdale social services, she told Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester. In it, the local council's department for looking after children claimed the youngster was selling herself for sex. 'It was in my file, when I looked it up,' she told the jury at the trial of eight men accused of grooming her and another teenager. 'I read it. I was picked up by the police for loitering and prostituting from the age of 10.' The woman, identified only as girl B, said she was repeatedly sexually abused from the age of 13, that 'everybody knew what was going on', and the description of her as a prostitute was 'vile'. And she denied claims by lawyers defending the accused that she was claiming she was abused to get compensation money. She said it was not about money, but she wanted Rochdale social services to 'take responsibility'. 'Because they were the ones supposed to care for me and look after me and a lot of bad things happened,' she said. 'I have never been able to lead my life at all. I struggled to enjoy anything, to do anything. Depression, anxiety to the point I didn't want to be here.' Rossano Scamardella KC, prosecuting, said: 'It was suggested to you, when you were 13 you looked a lot older?' The witness was given a photo of herself at that age to look at, and said: 'I look like a little kid.' Girl B said when the abuse began she was living in a children's home and started to hang around Rochdale market, where Mohammed Zahid, then in his 40s, owned a stall. Each week she was taken to a shop in Rochdale owned by another man – Mushtaq Ahmed. In the cold, damp basement under the shop, she was repeatedly raped on a dirty bare mattress by both the stall-holder Zahid and shop owner, Ahmed, she claimed. Mr Scamardella said: 'Did the two of them take turns to do that to you?' I was closing my eyes and praying for it to be over Girl B 'Yes,' she replied, 'in the same night. I was closing my eyes and praying for it to be over.' On other occasions she said Ahmed would drive her and Zahid to a house in Chadderton near Rochdale. There would be the three of them and other men there, who spoke a language she did not understand, including another man, Kasir Bashir, who would sexually abuse her. 'I would go upstairs and wait in the bedroom,' the witness said. Mr Scamardella said: 'Did you know what was about to happen? This was when you were 13?' 'Yes,' the witness replied. 'I would get undressed and lie on the bed.' Mr Scamardella continued: 'What would they do to you?' 'Rape me,' the witness said. The eight accused, all either taxis drivers or connected to Rochdale market, all deny multiple sexual offences including rape, indecent assault and indecency with a child between 2001 and 2006. They are: Mohammed Zahid, 64, of Station Road, Crumpsall, Manchester; Naheem Akram, 48, of Manley Road, Rochdale; Mohammed Shazad, 43, of Beswicke Royds Street, Rochdale; Nisar Hussain, 43, of Newfield Close, Rochdale; Roheez Khan, 39, of Athole Street, Rochdale; Arfan Khan, 40, of Grouse Street, Rochdale; Mushtaq Ahmed, 66, of Corona Avenue, Oldham; and Kasir Bashir, 50, of Napier Street East, Oldham. The trial was adjourned until February 24.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Trial hears girl, 13, was 'sex slave' to gang
A woman allegedly used as a "sex slave" by a group of Asian men when she was a teenager has told a jury "everybody knew what was going on". The witness, known as Girl A, told a trial into alleged sexual abuse by an eight-strong gang in Rochdale that she was regarded as a "prostitute" rather than a 13-year-old child. The eight men deny multiple sexual offences involving two underage girls, including rape, indecent assault and indecency with a child between 2001 and 2006. Another alleged victim, Girl B, told Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court that police and social workers knew what was going on but "weren't concerned enough to do anything about it". Girl B said the abuse began when she was living in a children's home and had started to spend time at Rochdale market, where Mohammed Zahid, then in his 40s, owned a stall. She said that she was taken weekly to the basement of a shop in Rochdale, Maria Fashions, owned by another man, Mushtaq Ahmed. In the basement room below the shop, there was a bare mattress on which she would have sex with market stallholder Zahid, the shop owner Ahmed and a third man, Kasir Bashir, the jury was told. Girl B said she had told the police and social services about what was going on. "They said I was a prostitute. I was prostituting myself," she told the court. "I don't remember them being concerned enough to do anything about it. "I remember knowing that they knew what was going on. "It always happened, it was nothing new to me. "I assumed they all knew. The police had picked me up. It all just seemed to me everybody knew what was going on." Earlier, prosecutor Rossano Scamardella KC told jurors both girls were sexually abused because their troubled backgrounds made them susceptible. "They were children passed around for sex, abused, degraded and then discarded," Mr Scamardella said, "They became sex slaves." Girl B said the abuse ended after she was fostered with a woman who was "like a mum" and lived away from Rochdale. She said she tracked Bashir down on Facebook years later, took a screen shot of his photo and contacted police. She also spotted her second alleged abuser, Ahmed, selling fruit and vegetables out of a van near a school. She said she took a photo of the registration plate and gave it to the police. When asked why she had not reported the sexual abuse before she first contacted police in May, 2021, Girl B said there was "no reason" for her to think it was wrong because "nobody did anything about it" when she was a child. She said: "I felt like that was my purpose. I think it had happened that much. "I never saw it as anything unnatural. I just felt like that was what I was there for. "I normalised it so much in my own head. "From the way I see things as a child to now, are two different things." Mohammed Zahid, Kashir Bashir, Mushtaq Ahmed, Roheez Khan, Mohammed Shahzad, Nisar Hussain, Naheem Akram and Arfhan Khan deny all the allegations against them. The trial continues. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
