Seven men have been convicted for their role in the systematic abuse of vulnerable children in Rochdale.
They were found guilty following a trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court of sexually abusing two girls in Rochdale between 2001 and 2006.
The abuse started when each of the girls were aged just 13.
Both were from vulnerable backgrounds and were known to social services. One victim was living in the care system during the offending period. They were groomed with gifts and money and often plied with alcohol or drugs before being attacked.
Mohammed Zahid, 64, of Station Road, Crumpsall, Manchester, guilty of 20 offences including rape, indecency with a child, and attempting to procure a girl into having unlawful sexual intercourse.
Kasir Bashir, 50, of Napier Street East, Oldham, guilty of four offences including rape and indecency with a child.
Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, of Corona Avenue, Oldham, guilty of nine offences including rape and indecency with a child.
Roheez Khan, 39, of Athole Street, Rochdale, guilty of one offence of rape.
Mohammed Shahzad, 44, of Beswicke Royds Street, Rochdale, guilty of six offences including rape and assault by penetration.
Nisar Hussain, 41, of Newfield Close, Rochdale, guilty of three offences including rape and assault by penetration.
Naheem Akram, 48, of Manley Road, Rochdale, guilty of seven offences including rape and assault by penetration
The two girls were abused by the defendants: with Ahmed and Bashir, abusing one victim, and Khan, Shahzad, Hussain, and Akram abusing the other. Zahid abused both girls.
Both victims, who were not known to each other, worked informally at a stall Zahid ran in Rochdale Market. He was also known to them as ‘Boss’ and ‘Bossman’.
Zahid gave the girls jobs, gifts and money, before he began sexually abusing them and bringing them to addresses where they were plied with alcohol and expected to have unprotected sex with other men, including Ahmed, Bashir, and Khan.
Shahzad was a taxi driver who met one of the victims when she was 13. Shahzad befriended her, texting her often and giving her lifts. After about a month, he started to regularly pick her up in his taxi and ply her with alcohol, before raping her.
She was driven to remote locations and passed around amongst taxi drivers who knew Shahzad, including Akram, and Hussain, who sexually abused and raped her.
To deal with the most complex and challenging child sexual abuse cases like this, the CPS has established a dedicated national Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit where Specialist Prosecutors use their expertise and experience to build strong cases and increase the number of successful prosecutions.
Detective Chief Inspector Guy Laycock is the senior investigating officer on the case. He said: “I must start by paying tribute to the two survivors in this case. They have been pivotal in bringing these abusers to long-awaited justice by bravely giving painful and difficult testimony during a four-month trial. 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.
“The team of dedicated investigators on this case have put thousands of hours into securing this outcome. They’ve supported the victims throughout to piece together all the evidence. Bringing child abusers to justice is why we work so tirelessly day-in day-out and I am so pleased for the victims that we have been able to help deliver this justice for them.”
Assistant Chief Constable Steph Parker is GMP’s lead for protecting vulnerable people. She said: “The survivors in this case are two women who were horrendously abused by this group of men. This unthinkable abuse was compounded by failings from authorities who let them down when they needed protecting the most. They were vulnerable children who experienced the worst trauma possible, and this will remain a matter of profound regret.
“I commend the faith the victims have shown in the GMP of today to support this long and complex investigation. We have excellent officers and staff who represent our determination to protect survivors and pursue offenders, through traditional detective work and our modern victim-centred approach. This is painstaking work that is bringing child abusers to justice.
“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. Every town, city, and borough in GM has a dedicated multi-agency safeguarding team that shares information and investigates all reports to protect children from harm. We’re lightyears ahead of where we were, and we are totally focussed on listening to survivors and continuing to further improve on our best practices which are now well-embedded.”
