Rochdale child-sex trial: Nine men guilty of grooming and passing round young girls for sex after plying them with vodka and drugs

Not guilty: Liaquat Shah arrives at Liverpool Crown Court for a previous hearing

Not guilty: Liaquat Shah arrives at Liverpool Crown Court for a previous hearing

‘There is no evidence to say they were
targeted because they were white,’ she said. ‘They were targeted
because they were there.’

But some campaign groups argue that
to tackle the problem it is vital to recognise that a minority within
their community prey on young, white girls.

‘There is a particular problem with
groups of Pakistani men who think white girls are worthless,’ said
Mohammed Shafiq, director of the Ramadhan Foundation. ‘They think they
can use and abuse these girls in this abhorrent sort of way and then
discard them.’

The missed chance to save the girls
came in August 2008 when the 15-year-old was arrested after smashing the
counter at one of the takeaways.

She told officers that two men had subjected her to repeated sexual abuse, plying her with vodka before raping her.

One was the ringleader of the group – a
59-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons. But despite evidence
which included DNA swabs from her underwear, a senior CPS lawyer ruled
there was no prospect of conviction and the pair were never charged.

As a result, members of the gang were allowed to continue their abuse.

The investigation was only revived
after Nazir Afzal was appointed chief crown prosecutor for North West
England and examined the file.

Twelve men were arrested in 2010 but
many of the girls were too scared to give evidence in court or regarded
the men as their boyfriends despite the huge age gap. However five
bravely agreed to testify against their abusers.

The abuse began at two takeaways in the Heywood area of Rochdale, including the Balti House (pictured)

The abuse began at two takeaways in the Heywood area of Rochdale, including the Balti House (pictured)

Under new ownership: The Tasty Bites takeaway - now renamed Bakar's - was the other takeaway at the centre of the scandal

Under new ownership: The Tasty Bites takeaway – now renamed Bakar’s and sold on to new owners – was the other takeaway at the centre of the scandal

Girls who were reluctant to have sex
were held down and raped, the court was told, while some deliberately
drank themselves into oblivion to blot out what was happening.

One said she fell asleep after being
given alcohol, waking to heavy breathing on her neck as she realised she
was being raped.

Another gave evidence of being raped by two men while
she was ‘so drunk she was vomiting over the side of the bed’. One
13-year-old victim became pregnant and had the child aborted.

Victims of the abuse were introduced
to the men by an older white girl known as the ‘Honey Monster’. She
didn’t face charges because lawyers considered her a victim of sexual
grooming herself.

Security operation: The 11 men were on trial at Liverpool Crown Court in a case that has shocked the nation

Security operation: The 11 men were on trial at Liverpool Crown Court in a case that has shocked the nation

Yesterday the 59-year-old was found
guilty of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children under
the age of 16 as well as two counts of rape, aiding and abetting a rape,
one count of sexual assault and an allegation of trafficking for sexual
exploitation.

Abdul Aziz, 41, from Rochdale, was
found guilty of conspiracy and trafficking for sexual exploitation and
not guilty of two counts of rape. Kabeer Hassan, 25, of Oldham, was
found guilty of conspiracy and rape. Adil Khan, 42, of Rochdale, was
found guilty of conspiracy and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Abdul Rauf, 43, of Rochdale, was found guilty of conspiracy and
trafficking for sexual exploitation. Mohammed Sajid, 35, of Rochdale,
was found guilty of conspiracy, trafficking, one count of rape and one
count of sexual activity with a child. Abdul Qayyum, 44, of Rochdale,
was found guilty of conspiracy. Mohammed Amin, 45, Rochdale, was found
guilty of conspiracy and sexual assault. Hamid Safi, 22, was found
guilty of conspiracy and trafficking but not guilty of two counts of
rape.

After the case, chief prosecutor Mr
Afzal said he hadn’t had to think twice about reviewing the decision not
to press charges and apologised to the girl who blew the whistle. ‘She
was let down by the whole system,’ he said.

VICTIM, 15, REVEALS HOW SHE WAS ‘LET DOWN’ BY POLICE

A victim of the ring said she was 'let down' by police and the Crown Prosecution Service (file picture)

A victim of the ring said she was ‘let down’ by police and the Crown Prosecution Service (file picture)

A victim of the ring said she was ‘let down’ by police and the Crown
Prosecution Service because the issue of Asian gangs grooming young
white girls was ‘unheard of’ at the time.

The girl, who was 15 when she was targeted by the gang, reported the
abuse to police in August 2008 but the CPS decided not to prosecute
because they did not believe a jury would find her ‘credible’.

After reporting the abuse she suffered for four more months at the
hands of the gang and continued to be forced into having sex by her
‘friend’ – a teenage girl who was acting as a pimp for the men.

She said the problem got ‘worse’ after telling the police.

‘I felt let down. But I know that they (police) believed me… but…
because they said to me at the end that something should have been done
but the CPS just would not – what’s the word? – prosecute is it?

‘It’s like, then, in 2008 it weren’t really heard of… Asian men with white girls.

‘It was just unheard of. I’ve never heard of it. Now it’s going on
everywhere. You think of Muslim men as religious and family-minded and
just nice people. You don’t think… I don’t know… you just don’t
think they’d do things like that.’

The girl, now 20, only escaped the gang in December 2008 when she fell pregnant and moved away. She was then made to wait until August 2009 for the CPS to tell her they were not taking the case to trial.

Today, she called the men who abused her ‘evil’ and said she hopes they pay for their crimes. ‘They ripped away all my dignity and all my last bit of self-esteem and by the end of it I had no emotion whatsoever because I was used to being used and abused daily,’ she said.

‘It was just blocked out, it was just like it wasn’t me any more. They just took everything away and I just think hopefully they’ll pay for what they’ve done.’

Sordid double lives of the groomers

  • Tweet by BNP leader Nick Griffin nearly led to the case being abandoned
  • Trial delayed after two legal counsels attacked outside court

A tweet from BNP leader Nick Griffin almost caused the trial to collapse when it led to allegations of the jury having a 'far-Right bias'

A tweet from BNP leader Nick Griffin almost caused the trial to collapse when it led to allegations of the jury having a ‘far-Right bias’

The far-Right attempted to make political capital out of the case – to the extent where it was even  suggested a juror may have been passing information to extremists.

Angry protesters demonstrated outside Liverpool Crown Court  during the three-month trial.

In one demonstration, a defence barrister and solicitor were assaulted as they left for lunch. They later resigned from the case.

The trial was delayed as a result and the first jury discharged.

Three days into the trial, a 100-strong mob attacked takeaways in Heywood, near Rochdale.

Police were pelted with bricks and windows smashed.

One officer was injured and on February 25, the English Defence League held a protest in Hyde, Greater Manchester.

Matters took a further twist when the jury retired to consider its verdicts last week.

British National Party leader Nick Griffin tweeted: ‘News flash: seven of the Muslim paedophile rapists found guilty in Liverpool’.

At that stage no verdicts had been given, but the trial judge was told Mr Griffin was correct about the deliberations inside the jury room, leading to suspicions of a mole.

Eight of the defence lawyers called for the jury to be discharged, claiming there must have been ‘two-way communication’ between someone in the jury room and the Far Right.

But the judge ruled there was no evidence any juror had acted improperly after inquiries revealed that all electronic equipment had been banned from the jury room.

Mr Griffin could face further action, however, as his posting may have breached strict court orders barring reporting of verdicts before the end of the case.

The 59-year-old ringleader of the gang later branded both the judge and jury ‘racist’ and was eventually barred from returning to court.

After the verdicts were delivered yesterday, he asked his barrister, Simon Nichol, to repeat his allegations.

Last night there was a heavy police presence in Heywood as efforts were taken to avoid a repeat of the violence which broke out on the streets in February.

Beefed up: Police guard the entrance to Liverpool Crown Court after attacks on two barristers by far-Right protesters caused the trial to be delayed by two weeks

Beefed up: Police guard the entrance to Liverpool Crown Court after attacks on two barristers by far-Right protesters caused the trial to be delayed by two weeks

VIDEO: VICTIM OF GROOMING GANG SPEAKS OF HER ORDEAL

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