Faces of men who manipulated and raped vulnerable Plymouth girls – New English Review

From the Plymouth Herald And Plymouth Live

Three predatory men have been told they face lengthy prison sentences after a jury found them guilty of raping vulnerable young girls in Plymouth.

During a five-week trial, the jury at Plymouth Crown Court heard how the older men deliberately selected four teenage girls, impoverished with drink or drugs at house parties, with the aim of seriously sexually assaulting them.

The jury also heard evidence from the mother of one of the girls, who revealed that she had repeatedly contacted authorities, expressing her concerns for her daughter’s welfare. She said: “I felt like I was fighting the whole world and no one was listening to me.”

The abuse came to light after another girl came forward and gave significant evidence to police after watching the BBC drama Three Girls, which highlighted the high-profile investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rochdale.

Devon and Cornwall Police launched the investigation – codenamed Operation Garcia – in 2017. It was a complex and lengthy investigation into child sexual exploitation, which resulted in four men being charged in total.

During the trial, the jury watched a series of video interviews with the girls by specially trained police officers, witnessed them testifying and cross-examining them on the witness stand, as well as hearing a series of police witnesses, statements and the men themselves giving evidence. After being sent out to consider their verdict on Friday afternoon, they returned this morning (August 20) to return unanimous and majority verdicts for the four men. The local newspaper reported on it only once, but the various stages of the process could be followed on the court roll lists.

Mr. Ahmadou was discharged from court after being found not guilty of sexual abuse and was escorted from the court. Moments later, a young woman in the public gallery burst into tears.

Abalzaq Salih, 31, from Plymouth, was convicted of two counts of rape of a woman aged 15 or under, while 32-year-old Saif Kahya, from Liverpool, was found guilty of one count of rape of a woman aged 16 or over.

Anthony Anantharajah, aged 35, from London, was convicted of one count of rape of a woman aged 16 or over. He was acquitted of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 15 or under.

A fourth man, 45-year-old Moussa Ahmadou from Plymouth, was acquitted of sexually assaulting a woman.

The convicted trio were remanded in custody and are expected to be sentenced in late September. Judge Peter Johnson said Salih, Kahya and Anantharajah – all found guilty of rape – should be remanded in custody, adding that they would be sentenced at a later date, adding that there would only be one sentence, which would be a prison sentence “measured in a number of years” and as such it would be “inappropriate” to grant them bail.

A specialist prosecutor has said the three men… led a “malicious and despicable campaign of sexual abuse, in some cases multiple times against these victims, which must have caused life-changing harm and trauma.”

Claire Brinton, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said: “These three men exploited four young girls with drugs, alcohol and money. Their victims were manipulated and raped. These defendants carried out a cruel and despicable campaign of sexual abuse, in some cases multiple times against these victims, which must have caused life-changing harm and trauma…”

During the trial, a statement was read from the mother of one of the girls. She said she was convinced that her daughter was being harmed at the parties she was going to, involving the men she and the other girls were meeting. She had called the authorities and told them to take action.

In her statement, she explained that she “felt like I was fighting the whole world and no one was listening to me.”

She wrote that the situation eventually “came to a head” when the short BBC drama Three Girls aired, which chronicled the high-profile investigation into child abuse in Rochdale. The mother said she made her daughter sit down and watch. She wrote how her daughter “got really upset and started crying” before turning to her mother and saying “mum, that’s exactly what happened to us”. She said she called the police with her daughter’s permission and said the young girl was prepared to make a complaint “and they took notice straight away”.

All of the rapes occurred in the suspects’ homes, which were located in various locations around Plymouth. At the time of the crimes, the victims were between 14 and 16 years old.

Judge Peter Johnson told the jury – some of whom were clearly panicked and dabbing at their eyes – that they had done their duty over the past five and a half weeks. He said the trial and evidence had been “emotionally challenging and factually demanding”, adding that it had been “tough work, well-formed by you”.

He said they had shown “good humour and patience at all times”, adding: “We are all immensely grateful to you for the work you have put into this process”. He noted the disturbing content they had recorded over the past five weeks and clearly recognised the distress some jurors were experiencing, urging them “never to worry about your verdicts – juries always reach the right verdicts. You have clearly paid close attention to the evidence and you have applied the law diligently”.