Ringleader of Rochdale grooming gang jailed for 35 years

The ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang that used two teenage girls as “sex slaves” has been sentenced for a range of sexual offences.

Members of the gang expected sex wherever and whenever, including in filthy flats, cars, car parks, alleyways, disused warehouses and on rancid mattresses, a court heard.

Some of the men groomed the victims when they worked at an old market stall in the town, run by Mohammed Zahid, 64, who was nicknamed ‘Boss man’.

A court previously heard that Zahid felt he was “almost untouchable” and gave free underwear from his lingerie stall to both girls, along with money, alcohol and food in return for the expectation of regular sex with him and his friends.

Zahid of Crumpsall, Manchester, denied the allegations but was previously found guilty of 20 offences, including rape, indecency with a child, and attempting to procure a girl into having unlawful sexual intercourse.

On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

A further six men denied wrongdoing, but a jury unanimously found them guilty. The men, who were also sentenced today, are:

• Kasir Bashir, 50, of Oldham, who was found guilty of four offences, including rape and indecency with a child. He was sentenced to 29 years in absence – he fled the UK before trial;

• Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, of Oldham, who was found guilty of nine offences, including rape and indecency with a child. He was jailed for 27 years;

• Roheez Khan, 39, of Rochdale, who was found guilty of one offence of rape. He was jailed for 12 years;

• Mohammed Shahzad, 44, of Rochdale, who was found guilty of six offences, including rape and assault by penetration. He was jailed for 26 years;

• Nisar Hussain, 41, of Rochdale, who was found guilty of three offences, including rape and assault by penetration. He was jailed for 19 years;

• Naheem Akram, 48, of Rochdale, who was found guilty of seven offences, including rape and assault by penetration. He was jailed for 26 years.

‘He felt almost untouchable’

Prosecutor Rossano Scamardella KC told Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court that Zahid’s offending “centred around his stall, which allowed him to meet many girls who he groomed and later introduced to others”.

“(Girl B) was in the care system for most of her young life, and Mohammed Zahid knew about that,” he said.

“It got to a stage where he was confident that nothing would be done about it, and he would ring the care home and would also go there to pick her up and drop her off.

“Such was the brazen way he did this that by the end of the abuse, he felt almost untouchable. It’s not as if she had no-one to turn to. She turned to the care home. She turned to social services.

“She felt able to tell them at some stages, or other people did, and nothing was done. People knew, authorities knew. And nothing was done.”

Both victims, who were 13 at the start of the abuse and came from “troubled home lives”, gave evidence in front of the men who committed the crimes.

The abusers were found guilty in June of 50 sexual offences that occurred between 2001 and 2006.

The jury heard, during a four-month trial, that the men preyed on their vulnerabilities. One said the abusers had “destroyed my life” in a statement read out before the sentencing.

‘Finally plucked up the courage to approach police’

On Monday, in a statement read out by prosecutor Rossano Scamardella KC, she said: “My life has been destroyed from the abuse of these men.

“The abuse has affected every part of my life, from what I look like, relationships, health, to my mental health.

“Over the last 10 years, when I finally plucked up the courage to approach the police and disclose the abuse I suffered, it has been an absolute emotional rollercoaster for me.

“I have provided about 40 video interviews, having to speak about what I was subjected to, talking about it out loud and explaining it in detail.

“This has been and still is consuming my life. I hope that one day I will be able to move forward with my life.

“The jury finding these men guilty, I hope, is going to help me take another step forward to get my life back, as I have already lost my childhood. And now, because of the case, I’m losing part of my adult life, continually revisiting the abuse of my childhood.”

‘I have never been able to move on’

Girl B read her victim personal statement from the witness box, and urged other victims to come forward to the police.

She said: “I coped with what these men did to me, as at the time I believed that every man I came into contact with would expect sex. It is horrific that I didn’t know any different.

“My way of coping was to block out most of what had been done to me. I have felt shame and guilt all my life for what these men did.

“My life has been on hold for the last 20 years, I have never been able to move on from the abuse.

“Before the CSE (child sexual exploitation) team came to me I had no faith in the police, but meeting someone who believed and understood everything meant I could trust for the first time.

“It is important that people know that the team who have worked on my case have been amazing. People in the press and social media have told victims of CSE not to go to the police. This is wrong.

“I want these victims to know that if they feel ready to deal with what happened to them they shouldn’t wait, they should go to the CSE team because they will do a good job.

“It doesn’t matter how much time has gone by, it is still possible to get justice. The day I watched the verdicts changed my life, I instantly had a massive weight lifted off me and I now feel like I can live my life. I do not need to feel ashamed, and I have already started that process.”