Latest news with #KasirBashir
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Hunt for fugitive Rochale grooming gang member who was found guilty of raping and abusing teenage girl as police warn him 'you can run but you can't hide'
One of the seven men convicted of exploiting two young girls as 'sex slaves' has gone on the run, police have revealed. The gang preyed on the vulnerabilities of the victims to groom them from the age of 13 over a five-year-long campaign of abuse between 2001 and 2006. Kasir Bashir, 50, was absent throughout his trial - despite answering bail on a weekly basis since being charged in 2023. In his absence, the abuser was convicted by a jury of two counts of rape, as well as two counts of indecency with a child. He is being actively sought by GMP, the force confirmed, and is officially a wanted man. It comes as three members of the gang were locked up partway through their trial following 'intelligence' that they planned to flee to Pakistan. Police said they are determined to find Bashir 'no matter where he thinks he can hide'. Anyone with information about Bashir's whereabouts have been urged to contact police or Crimestoppers, anonymously. Detective Chief Inspector Guy Laycock, the senior investigation officer on the case, said: 'The men who committed this horrific abuse have now been found guilty of their abhorrent crimes. One defendant, Kasir Bashir cowardly avoided the whole trial and thought he could escape justice. 'This is in stark contrast to the survivors who gave brave and painful testimony over the four-month trial in front of the men that so badly abused them. We will do all we can to find Bashir and ensure justice is fully served for them. 'Time was no barrier to bringing these groomers to justice, and Bashir evading the trial, will not stop us ensuring he now faces the full consequences of his actions.' Both female victims of the gang had 'deeply troubled home lives' and were given drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, places to stay and people to be with, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard. They were expected to have sex 'whenever and wherever' the defendants and other men wanted in filthy flats, on rancid mattresses, in cars, car parks, alleyways and disused warehouses. Jurors deliberated for three weeks before delivering their unanimous guilty verdicts today. Rochdale is now not synonymous with the great achievements of the Industrial Revolution but with what has become known as Asian grooming gangs, the men's trial heard The gang's convictions in full Mohammed Zahid was convicted of ten counts of rape; four counts of indecency with a child; five counts of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse; and one count of attempt to procure a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse. Kasir Bashir was convicted of two counts of rape; and two counts of indecency with a child. Mushtaq Ahmed was convicted of four counts of rape; four counts of indecency with a child; and one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse. Roheez Khan was convicted of one count of rape. Mohammed Shahzad was convicted of five counts of rape; and one count of assault by penetration. Nisar Hussain was convicted of two counts of rape; and one count of assault by penetration. Naheem Akram was convicted of six counts of rape; and one count of assault by penetration Three of the abusers, Mohammed Zahid, 64, Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Bashir - all born in Pakistan - were stallholders on Rochdale's indoor market. The gang's depraved ringleader Zahid was even known as 'Knickerman' because of his underwear stall at the centuries-old trading hub. The pot-bellied, wispy-haired father-of-three exploited his products' appeal to young girls to lure in vulnerable youngsters who were then subjected to 'years of misery'. 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 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. 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. A seventh defendant, Pakistani-born Roheez Khan, 39, also featured in another previous Rochdale grooming trial in 2013 when he was one of five men convicted of sexually exploiting a 'profoundly vulnerable' 15-year-old girl in 2008 and 2009. Khan was jailed for six-and-a-half years for engaging in sexual activity with a child and witness intimidation. Starting when they were aged just 13, two terrified girls were 'passed around' for sex between fellow traders and taxi drivers – all from Rochdale's Pakistani community - between 2001 and 2006. They would then be callously 'discarded', jurors in a ten-week trial heard. Following a string of successful prosecutions which made the Greater Manchester town grimly synonymous with the scourge of grooming gangs, the victims – now in their 30s – decided to come forward to seek justice over their ordeals.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Seven men face ‘lengthy' sentences for sexual abuse of teenage girls in Rochdale
Seven members of an Asian grooming gang are facing 'lengthy' prison sentences after they were convicted of the sexual exploitation of two white teenage schoolgirls in Rochdale. Social services and police apologised for their past failings surrounding the victims who were abused in the town between 2001 and 2006 after a jury returned unanimous verdicts on Friday against the defendants. Both girls were treated as 'sex slaves' from the age of 13, said prosecutors, amid 'deeply troubled home lives' as they were given drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, places to stay and people to be with. Soon after, they were expected to have sex 'whenever and wherever' the defendants and other men wanted, in filthy flats, on rancid mattresses, in cars, car parks, alleyways and disused warehouses. Girl A told the jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court that she could have been targeted by more than 200 offenders as her phone number was swapped but said 'there was that many it was hard to keep count'. 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'. 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, also featured in another previous Rochdale grooming trial in 2013 when he was one of five men convicted of sexually exploiting a 'profoundly vulnerable' 15-year-old girl in 2008 and 2009. Khan was jailed for six and a half years for engaging in sexual activity with a child and witness intimidation. 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. All the perpetrators were prosecuted as part of Operation Lytton, an ongoing investigation since 2015 by Greater Manchester Police into historical child sexual exploitation in Rochdale. A total of 37 individuals have been charged so far, with five more trials scheduled to take place from September onwards.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
Seven men used teenage girls as ‘sex slaves' in Rochdale
Seven Asian men have been convicted of the sexual exploitation of two white teenage schoolgirls in Rochdale. The abusers preyed on the vulnerabilities of the victims to groom them as 'sex slaves' from the age of 13 in the Greater Manchester town between 2001 and 2006. Both girls had 'deeply troubled home lives' and were given drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, places to stay and people to be with, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Soon afterwards, they were expected to have sex 'whenever and wherever' the abusers and other men wanted, in filthy flats, on rancid mattresses, in cars, car parks, alleyways and disused warehouses. Jurors deliberated for three weeks before delivering unanimous guilty verdicts on Friday. Three of the abusers, Mohammed Zahid, 64, Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Kasir Bashir, 50 – all born in Pakistan – were stallholders at the town's indoor market. Opening the prosecution case in January, Rossano Scamardella KC said Rochdale had been 'blighted' by child sexual exploitation and that one of the two complainants, Girl A, was abused by many other Asian men. Girl A told the jury she could have been targeted by more than 200 offenders as her phone number was swapped but said 'there was that many it was hard to keep count'. The court heard that she told local children's services in 2004 that she was 'hanging around' with groups of older men, drinking and taking cannabis. Giving evidence, Girl B said she was living in a local children's home when she was preyed on by Zahid, Ahmed and Bashir. 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. Both complainants denied claims from defence barristers that they fabricated the allegations to secure compensation. 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 with a 15-year-old girl he met when she visited his stall to buy tights for school in 2006. Bashir did not attend the current trial, and jurors were ordered not to speculate why, but it can be revealed that he absconded while on bail before the trial got under way. It can also be reported that 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, also featured in another previous Rochdale grooming trial in 2013 when he was one of five men convicted of sexually exploiting a 'profoundly vulnerable' 15-year-old girl in 2008 and 2009. Khan was jailed for six and a half years for engaging in sexual activity with a child and witness intimidation. The convictions are the latest under Operation Lytton, the most recent in a series of major investigations either launched, aborted or relaunched by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to deal with gangs acting 'in plain sight' decades earlier. Operation Augusta, an investigation into grooming in south Manchester by Asian men was launched in 2004-5 after the death of Victoria Agoglia, 15, on Sept 29 2003. She was in care but died after being injected with heroin by a man more than 30 years her senior, and had reported being raped. GMP identified 97 grooming suspects and 25 child victims, all under the care of Manchester city council, but at a joint police and council meeting in 2005, bosses decided to abruptly shut down the operation. Minutes from the meeting, taken by the police and the council, both disappeared. Two senior officers in the meeting were later promoted to chief constables, Parliament heard. More grooming gang offences in Rochdale were investigated in 2008, but the Crown Prosecution Service made the decision not to proceed to trial on the basis that it viewed the main victim as 'unreliable'. GMP later launched Operation Span, investigating offences between 2010 and 2012. It resulted in the conviction of nine men from Rochdale following a high-profile trial at Liverpool Crown Court ending in May 2012.
ITV News
a day ago
- ITV News
First Rochdale grooming jury discharged over race bias concerns
Concerns a juror - thought to be an ex-police officer - may be racist led to a second jury being needed in the Rochdale grooming trial, it has emerged. Less than a week after the prosecution opened its case at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court in January, a note was sent to the judge inquiring about the whereabouts of one of the defendants who was not in the dock. Previously, Judge Jonathan Seely told jurors the fact that Kasir Bashir, 50, was not present did not affect their task of deciding whether he was guilty of child sexual exploitation charges or not He ordered them not to speculate why he was not in court and that his absence should not count as evidence against him. Days later the judge received a note which read: 'Where is Kasir Bashir? In the UK, Pakistan or elsewhere? 'Have any other defendants tried to abscond? What nationality are the defendants and who has dual nationality?' Lisa Wilding KC, on behalf of defence barristers in the case, successfully applied to the judge for the jury to be discharged. She said: 'The court knows that Kasir Bashir has indeed absconded. 'The concern raised at the defence bar is that this note reveals firstly, and perhaps most concerning, the disregarding of your honour's directions. 'Secondly, what nationality Kasir Bashir and the others are is, of course, a matter that is wholly irrelevant to these proceedings and displays potentially a bias against defendants who are not of British origin. 'We know one of these jurors is a former serving police officer. It is our belief that the note comes from this juror, perhaps it matters or not. 'It is our application that the jury be discharged. It is not capable of remedy.' The prosecution did not oppose the application as a second jury was sworn in shortly after. They jury went on to convict seven men of the sexual exploitation of two teenage schoolgirls in Rochdale. The defendants preyed on the vulnerabilities of the victims to groom them as 'sex slaves' from the age of 13 on various dates in the Greater Manchester town between 2001 and 2006.
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The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Rochdale gang convicted for raping and exploiting teenage girls for five years
A group of men have been convicted of the sexual exploitation of two teenage schoolgirls in Rochdale. The seven defendants were all Asian males aged between 39 and 67. They preyed on the vulnerabilities of their victims to groom them as 'sex slaves' from the age of 13 on various dates in the Greater Manchester town between 2001 and 2006. The victims were given drugs, alcohol, cigarette, places to stay and people to be with, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Both were described as white teenage schoolgirls with 'deeply troubled home lives.' After initial meetings, the girls were expected to have sex 'whenever and wherever' the defendants and other men wanted in filthy flats, on rancid mattresses, in cars, car parks, alleyways and disused warehouses. Jurors deliberated for three weeks before delivering their unanimous guilty verdicts on Friday. Three of the abusers, Mohammed Zahid, 64, Mustaq Ahmed, 67, and Kasir Bashir, 50, – all born in Pakistan – were stallholders on the town's indoor market. 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 who 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. 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, also featured in another previous Rochdale grooming trial in 2013 when he was one of five men convicted of sexually exploiting a 'profoundly vulnerable' 15-year-old girl in 2008 and 2009. Khan was jailed for six-and-a-half years for engaging in sexual activity with a child and witness intimidation. Opening the prosecution case in January, Rossano Scamardella KC said Rochdale had been 'blighted' by child sexual exploitation and that one of the two complainants, Girl A, was abused by many other Asian men. Girl A told the jury she could have been targeted by more than 200 offenders as her phone number was swapped but said 'there was that many it was hard to keep count'. 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 Zahid, Ahmed and Bashir. 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. Both complainants denied claims from defence barristers that they fabricated the allegations to secure compensation. Zahid, of, Station Road, Crumpsall, was convicted of raping Girl A and Girl B, who did not know each other. 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, Hussain, of New Field Close, Rochdale, and Khan, of Athole Street, Rochdale, were convicted of multiple counts of rape against Girl A. Roheez Khan was found guilty of a single count of rape against Girl A. During the trial the prosecution offered no evidence against an eight defendant, Arfan Khan, 41, of Rochdale, who was cleared of various sexual offences. All the perpetrators were prosecuted as part of Operation Lytton, an ongoing investigation since 2015 by Greater Manchester Police into historical child sexual exploitation in Rochdale. A total of 37 individuals have been charged so far, with five more trials scheduled to take place from September onwards.
