The West Yorkshire Police have revealed that twenty members of a grooming gang have been sentenced to a collective 277 years behind bars over the sexual exploitation of young girls in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Following the conclusion of six separate trials, which began at the Leeds Crown Court in July 2023, court reporting restrictions have finally been lifted on the cases against 20 people involved in the sexual exploitation of young girls in Kirklees.
The West Yorkshire Police said that the grooming offences were largely committed in Batley and Dewsbury against three girls, including one who was just 12 years old when she was first sexually exploited by the group. The force said the offences occurred between 1995 and 2003.
DCI Rob Stevens of Kirklees District Police said they came as a result of a major investigation into the “appalling sexual abuse of vulnerable girls in Kirklees by a large number of sexual predators.”
DCI Stevens said that the victims were “repeatedly sexually assaulted” and in some cases given Class A drugs by their abusers. He said that juries in the trials heard “some shocking revelations about the dreadful way victims were abused by those involved.”
“They were repeatedly sexually assaulted, in some cases given Class A drugs, and very much treated as commodities for the gratification of heartless predators,” he said.
Those convicted included:
Ansar Mahmood Qayum, age 49, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 10 years for three offences of rape and two offences of indecent assault. This sentence was added to an existing 20 sentence imposed on Qayum at court in a separate trial in another case in 2022, making a total sentence of 30 years
Sajid Majid, aged 53, from Mirfield , sentenced to 28 years for five offences of rape and three offences of indecent assault.
Manaf Hussain, aged 51, from Heckmondwike, sentenced to 25 years for six offences of rape and an offence of supplying Class A drugs.
Tariq Azam, aged 57, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 24 years for five offences of rape and four offences of indecent assault.
Zulfiqar Ali, aged 47, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 22 years, six months for four offences of rape.
Aurrangzeb Azam, aged 56 , from Dewsbury, sentenced to 20 years for ten offences of rape and an offence of indecent assault.
Shakeel Haq, aged 58, from Birmingham, sentenced to 19 years for three offences of rape and an offence of false imprisonment.
Rafiq Patel , aged 73, from Batley was sentenced to 18 years for two offences of rape.
Zaheed Ali Novsarka, aged 58, from Batley, sentenced to 18 years for two offences of rape.
Mohammed Sheikh, aged 53, from Batley, sentenced to 14 years for two offences of rape and two offences of indecent assault.
Mohammed Yasin, aged 52, from Batley, sentenced to 14 years for an offence of rape and two indecent assaults.
Liaquat Hussain Hanif, aged 49, from Batley, sentenced to 12 years, six months for two offences of rape and an offence of supplying Class A drugs.
Ebrahim Mananiat, aged 56, from Batley, sentenced to 12 years for two offences of rape.
Ibrahim Khalifa, aged 87, from Bradford, sentenced to 11 years for two offences of rape.
Shafiq Siddique, aged 56, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 11 years for an offence of rape.
Mohammed Munir Shaffi, aged 48 from Dewsbury, sentenced to nine years for two offences of rape.
Mohammed Ishtiaq Hussain, aged 51, from Dewsbury, sentenced to eight years for an offence of rape.
Abbas Kaji, aged 57, from Batley, sentenced to seven years for an offence of rape.
Donna Lynn, aged 45, from Cleckheaton, sentenced to three years for an offence of controlling prostitution.
Tasawar Hussain, aged 46, from Dewsbury, sentenced to three years for an offence of rape.
Commenting on the convictions, DCI Stevens said: “The very significant jailed terms given to some of these men, such as the 28-year sentence for Sajid Majid or the 20 year sentence handed to Aurrangzeb Azam who was found guilty of 10 separate rapes, speak volumes about their depravity and the abuse meted out to victims in this case.
“Again, it cannot be stressed more highly that the reason this dreadful offending came to light was the courage of victims who have come forward and reported the offending they were subjected to. Every possible effort is made at West Yorkshire Police to support victims of sexual abuse, but we realise how difficult making reports and then supporting prosecutions can be.
“These women showed enormous bravery in giving evidence in lengthy trials and I hope they can feel a sense of pride in the determination they have displayed to see justice done, and in seeing people who have no place in society being put behind bars.”
The latest convictions come amid an ongoing national inquiry into the grooming gang scandal. While Prime Minister Starmer initially rejected such an inquiry, an independent report from Dame Louise Casey, which confirmed that the offences were predominantly carried out by Pakistani Muslims against young white working class girls and that the offences were overlooked by officials for fear of being seen as racist, ramped up public pressure and an inquiry with statutory powers to compel testimony was finally approved last year.