Seven people convicted of child abuse in Rotherham

Seven men convicted in Britain’s largest child abuse investigation have been jailed for attacking two vulnerable girls in Rotherham.

Mohammed Amar, 43, Mohammed Siyab, 44, Yasser Ajaibe, 39, Mohammed Zameer Sadiq, 50, Abid Saddiq, 43, Tahir Yasin, 38, and Ramin Bari, 38, were jailed at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday and Friday.

According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), the victims were aged 11 and 15 when the offending began and had both spent time in youth care during the offending period.

The case was part of Operation Stovewood, which was launched after the Jay Report found that at least 1,400 girls in Rotherham were abused, trafficked and manipulated by male gangs between 1997 and 2013.

Monday August 26th marked 10 years since the publication of the report.

CPS lawyer Zoe Becker said the men “deliberately took advantage of two young girls they knew were vulnerable and exploited them for their own sexual gratification using drugs and alcohol”.

The crimes were committed between April 2003 and April 2008.

During the trial it was stated that the suspects regularly picked up the victims in their cars, often from the children’s homes where they lived, and gave them cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis and money.

The girls were then abused, forced to perform sexual acts or raped.

“The cruelty and abuse the victims suffered at the hands of these suspects was horrific and continues to have a lasting impact on their lives,” said Ms Becker.

Stuart Cobb, chief investigator at the NCA, said: “These men were cruel and manipulative, training their victims and then exploiting them by subjecting them to the most horrific abuse possible.

“They were responsible for some of the worst crimes we investigated under Operation Stovewood.”

All seven men lived in or around Rotherham at the time of the abuse.

Amar, Ajaibe, Sadiq and Sayib assaulted one victim, while Yassin and Bari targeted the other.

Saddiq, who was already serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex crimes before this hearing, abused both girls.

The court heard the attacks took place in various locations around Rotherham, including in a park, in a car in a supermarket car park, in a cemetery and behind a nursery.

Mr Cobb added: “What happened to them can never be undone, but I hope the sentences imposed here will at least give them some sense that their abusers have been held to account and that justice has been done.

“We and our partners will continue to do everything we can to support them in the future.”

• Amar, of Elizabeth Way, Rotherham, was found guilty of two counts of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 14 years in prison, suspended for two years. He was found not guilty of one count of sexual assault.

• Ajaibe, of Walter Street in Rotherham, was found guilty of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl and was sentenced to six years in prison, suspended for one year.

• Sadiq, of Richard Road, Rotherham, was found guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and rape. He was jailed for 15 years, suspended for one year.

• Siyab, of Stevenson Drive, Rotherham, was found guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and two counts of rape. He was also found guilty of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation. He was jailed for a total of 24 years, with one year on extended licence.

• Saddiq, formerly of Rotherham, was found guilty of indecent assault on a girl aged 12, rape of a girl under 13 and two further charges of rape. He was jailed for a total of 24 years, one year of which was on extended licence.

• Yasin, of Burngreave Street in Sheffield, was found guilty of eight counts of rape and jailed for 13 years.

• Bari, of Batemoor Road, Sheffield, was found guilty of four counts of rape and jailed for nine years.

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