An Asian (Muslim, Pakistani) grooming gang in Rochdale led by a market stallholder dubbed 'Boss Man' have been jailed for 174 years in total after two white schoolgirls were raped as they were used as 'sex slaves' from the age of 13.
Mohammed Zahid, 65, gave free underwear from his lingerie stall at Rochdale Indoor Market to both teenagers, along with money, alcohol and food, in return for the expectation of regular sex with him and his friends.
The father-of-three, now jailed for 35 years, was one of seven Asian men convicted in June by a jury at Manchester Minshull Street Court of committing various sexual offences against the girls between 2001 and 2006.
They were the first Asian grooming gang to be brought to justice since Labour faced accusations of a cover-up for resisting calls for a public inquiry into how a generation of girls were betrayed by police and social services.
Both girls were treated as 'sex slaves', said prosecutors, 'amid deeply troubled home lives' as they were given drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, places to stay and people to be with.
Soon after, they were expected to have sex 'whenever and wherever' the defendants and other men wanted, in filthy flats, on rancid mattresses, in cars, car parks, alleyways and disused warehouses.
The trial also heard how one girl - at the time living in a children's home - was scandalously dismissed by social workers as having been 'prostituting' herself from the age of ten.
Girl A told the jury she could have been targeted by more than 200 offenders as her phone number was swapped in the town but said 'there were so many it was hard to keep count'.
Mohammed Zahid, 65, was the gang's ringleader and had a stall at Rochdale's indoor market
Top row, left to right: Kasir Bashir, Mohammed Shahzad; middle row, left to right: Mushtaq Ahmed, Roheez Khan; bottom row, left to right: Naheem Akram, Nisar Hussain
Mohammed Zahid, 65, is seen in a police interview - he has now been jailed for 35 years
Giving evidence, Girl B said she was living in a local children's home when she was preyed on by Zahid and fellow market traders Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Kasir Bashir, 50, who were all born in Pakistan.
She said she presumed various agencies knew what was going on as police regularly picked her up after social workers labelled her a 'prostitute' from the age of 10.
Zahid, of Station Road in Crumpsall, thought he was 'almost untouchable' as he brazenly visited the care home to pick her up and later drop her off, the court heard.
He was convicted of raping Girl A and Girl B, who did not know each other, on multiple occasions.
Jurors also found him guilty of offences of indecency with a child and procuring a child to have sex.
In 2016, Zahid was jailed for five years after he was convicted of engaging in sexual activity in 2005 and 2006 with a 14-year-old girl whom he met when she visited his stall to buy tights for school.
He was one of many men who called her phone number 'out of the blue' and went on to groom the 'extremely vulnerable' teenager.
Now Ahmed, 67, of Corona Avenue in Oldham, and Bashir, 50, formerly of Napier Street East in the same town, have been jailed for 27 years and 29 years respectively after they were found guilty of multiple counts of rape and indecency with a child, in relation to Girl B.
Bashir was sentenced in his absence after he absconded while on bail before the trial got under way. He is believed to be out of the country.
Mohammed Zahid is seen outside Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court in January 2025
Taxi drivers Mohammed Shahzad, 44, Naheem Akram, 49, and Nisar Hussain, 41, all from Rochdale, were all convicted of multiple counts of rape against Girl A.
Both Shahzad and Akram were jailed for 26 years and Hussain was sentenced to 19 years in prison.
Roheez Khan, 39, also of Rochdale, was jailed for 12 years after he was found guilty of a single count of rape against Girl A.
Social services and police have apologised for their past failings surrounding the victims.
Sentencing, Judge Jonathan Seely said: 'Both girls were highly vulnerable, both had deeply troubled backgrounds and were known to the authorities.
'They were highly susceptible to the advances of these men and others, and both were sexually abused by numerous other men.
'They were passed around for sex - abused, humiliated, degraded and then discarded.
'Both were seriously let down by those whose job it was to protect them.'
He said Girl B was 'failed woefully' and noted how she was 'chillingly described' in a social services document as having prostituted herself at 10 years old.
The judge said both victims had suffered 'incessant abuse', and as children had been targeted by 'gangs of sexually predatory men'.
Rossano Scarmardella KC, prosecuting, said Zahid had been 'brazen' and 'felt almost untouchable'.
During the trial, he described how both girls were well known to social services and other agencies it was 'no secret' they were having sex with older, Asian men.
But no reports were made to police, he said, and 'no action was taken' to stop the girls being abused.
The gang's sickening crimes only came to light when one of the girls, who was also sexually exploited by another grooming gang, went to police in 2015.
In a victim personal statement, Girl A told how her life had been 'destroyed' by the abuse and her 'childhood was taken away'.
She said: 'I meant nothing to these men - they used me for their advantage only.
'They didn't care how their abuse would have an impact on my childhood and adult life. As long as they got what they wanted, that was all that mattered.'
In her statement, Girl B described her experience as 'horrific' and said her life had been 'on hold' for the past 20 years, adding: 'I have never been able to move on from the abuse.
'This has not just impacted my life and what I could have achieved, but also my children's lives. They have become victims of these men too.'
Liz Fell, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service's Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, said following today's sentences: 'At the centre of this case are two victims who, as children, were repeatedly abused, passed around and discarded by men who cruelly preyed on their vulnerabilities and exploited their difficult circumstances for their own sexual gratification.
'Both victims have shown an enormous amount of strength and dignity throughout what has been a lengthy and challenging legal process.
'The impact of child sexual abuse extends far beyond the immediate offending. Both women not only gave evidence during the trial but have assisted the Court further by providing Victim Personal Statements describing in tragic detail the trauma they have carried for decades, and the impact this offending has had on all parts of their lives.
'Our Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, in collaboration with Greater Manchester Police, was able to use extensive evidence to build a comprehensive picture of the defendant's offending to present to a jury who found them guilty and delivered the justice these women deserved.
'All children have the right to be safe and protected. I hope the outcome of this case will encourage anyone who may be in a similar position to come forward to report their abuse to the police, knowing we will do all we can to prosecute where there is sufficient evidence to do so and offer support throughout the process.'
After sentencing, Sharon Hubber, director of children's services at Rochdale Borough Council, said: 'The council is in a very different place to where it once was more than a decade ago, and our work to improve our safeguarding practice and our response to child sexual exploitation has been recognised in every Ofsted inspection since 2014.
'We will not be complacent, however, and we remain committed to doing all that we can with our partners to protect and support victims and survivors.'
Sharon Hubber, director of children's services at Rochdale Borough Council, today said: 'The council is in a very different place to where it once was more than a decade ago, and our work to improve our safeguarding practice and our response to child sexual exploitation has been recognised in every Ofsted inspection since 2014.
'We will not be complacent, however, and we remain committed to doing all that we can with our partners to protect and support victims and survivors.'
Following the gang's convictions in June this year, the Conservatives' Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'The crimes committed by these men are sickening. Their victims were raped and abused for years, and the youngest was just 13 years old. It should not have taken 20 years to get these convictions.
'Not a single person in authority has ever been held to account for covering up crimes like these, and for ignoring the victims.
'It's time for a national statutory inquiry to get to the truth about the cover-ups.'
According to one estimate, upwards of 250,000 girls have been attacked repeatedly by street gangs in 50 British towns and cities over the past 40 years.
June's guilty verdicts represented the eighth time that a group of men of mainly Pakistani heritage have been convicted of grooming girls for sex in Rochdale in the early 2000s.
Footage revealed the moment two members of the gang turned on each other in a police station - with Naheem Akram and Nisar Hussain coming close to trading blows as they blamed each other.
The pair were both being questioned at Bury police station in 2017 over the serious sexual assault of one of the victims, known as Girl A, when when the fight broke out.
Former taxi driver Akram, who was accused of raping and abusing the girl, pointed at Hussain and called him a grass, before trying to punch him.
Hussain, who filmed a video of the same teenager being abused, later confirmed to police he had been assaulted but opted not to prosecute.
Ahead of today's sentencing, Zahid's lawyer Lisa Wilding acknowledged he had played a 'unique' role because he had sexually abused both victims but asked the judge to hand out a sentence that was 'just and proportionate'.
Trevor Parry-Jones, mitigating for Ahmed, said he had been attacked twice in prison since being remanded in custody.
He said the father-of-three, whose children are all under 18, will no longer be able to provide funding for one child's private education, adding: 'He supported 18 people in Pakistan. They no longer have any support also.'
Bashir's barrister Shahnawaz Khan described him as 'hard-working' and with no previous convictions but the court heard that he remains 'out of jurisdiction'.
Daniel Jones, for Shahzad, said he did not accept his guilt but 'expresses and understands' how hard it was for Girl B, adding: 'If that had been one of my daughters it would have been heartbreaking.'
Ahmed Hossain, representing Akram, said he had previous convictions and was his late 20s at the time of the offending.
Gemma Maxwell, defending married father-of-two Hussain, said he was of previously 'good character' and nine character references spoke of him in 'glowing terms'.
Khan's barrister Saleema Mahmood said his 'lifestyle has changed' and he had since married, adding that his offending could have been linked to the notion of 'respect' - traditionally shown to older men - within his community.
She said he had 'struggled to integrate' after arriving in UK aged 18 from his native Pakistan and that his 'reasoning was influenced by those around him'.
The gang's convictions in full
- Mohammed Zahid was convicted of ten counts of rape; four counts of indecency with a child; five counts of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse; and one count of attempt to procure a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse.
- Kasir Bashir was convicted of two counts of rape; and two counts of indecency with a child.
- Mushtaq Ahmed was convicted of four counts of rape; four counts of indecency with a child; and one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse.
- Roheez Khan was convicted of one count of rape.
- Mohammed Shahzad was convicted of five counts of rape; and one count of assault by penetration.
- Nisar Hussain was convicted of two counts of rape; and one count of assault by penetration.
- Naheem Akram was convicted of six counts of rape; and one count of assault by penetration
- One of the defendants is on the run and absconded before the current trial got underway
- Police received intelligence that three Rochdale-born taxi drivers were planning to leave the UK and were consequently denied bail
- The Conservatives renewed their call for a national statutory inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal
Mohammed Zahid after being convicted of grooming young girls in Rochdale
Rochdale's market has served the Greater Manchester town since 1251 - but two perverted traders used their stalls to groom and exploit young girls
Gang member and former shopkeeper Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, arriving at court
Mushtaq Ahmed let fellow gang members use the cellar of his clothing shop in Rochdale to abuse girls
Rochdale is now not synonymous with it's great achievements during the Industrial Revolution but with what has become known as Asian grooming gangs
Kasir Bashir, 50
Mushtaq Ahmed, 67
Roheez Khan, 39
Mohammed Shahzad, 44
Nisar Hussain, 41
Naheem Akram, 48
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14809499/Rochdale-grooming-gang-convicted-sex-offences-against-two-teenage-girls-five-year-campaign-abuse.html
Naheem Akram, 48, (left) and Nisar Hussain, 41, (right) came close to trading blows as they blamed each other for being part of the Asian gang that raped teenage girls
Rochdale grooming gang leader Qari Abdul Rauf is out of jail and hasn't been deported
Some other Grooming Gangs:
1. From Aylesbury - Buckinghamshire:
Clockwise from top left: Vikram Singh, Akbari Khan, Asif Hussain, Mohammed Imran, Taimoor Khan and Arshad Jani
2. Banbury - Oxfordshire:
Clockwise from top left: Ahmed Hassan-Sule, Kagiso Manase, Takudzwa Hova, Mohamed Saleh, Said Saleh, and Zsolt Szaltoni
Bashiru Umar (left) and Samuel Osei-Bempong (right) plied schoolgirls with drink, drugs and cash in the early 2000s
3. Birkenhead - Merseyside:
Ilvarasan (left) and Vinothan Rajenthiram groomed young girls at convenience stores
4. Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and Leeds, West Yorkshire:
Shaha Amran Miah, Shaha Joman Miah and Shaha Alman Miah carried out assaults on little girls as young as six or seven
5. Birmingham, West Midlands:
From left to right: Naseem Khan, Mohammed Javed and Allam Shah were convicted alongside Mohammed Anjam, Omar Ahmed, and Sajid Hussein
6. Bradford - West Yorkshire
From left: Basharat Khaliq, Saeed Akhtar, Naveed Akhtar, Parvaze Ahmed, Zeeshan Ali, Fahim Iqbal, Izar Hussain, Mohammed Usman and Kieran Harris
7. Brierfield - Lancashire
Mohammed Imran Amjad (left) Furqan Amjad (middle) and Qasim Hussain (right)
8. Bristol City - Bristol
9. Burton-on-Trent - Stafford
Top left to right: Adrian Rihard Demeter, David Korosi, Dominik Beri. Bottom left to right: Jeno Maka, Mate Maka, Maxim Hanko, Renato Daniel Nyari
10. Bury - Greater Manchester
Muhammad Hussain was jailed on May 17 2021 for grooming and abusing teenage girls
Brother Hashim Hussain was jailed for four years after he filmed a group of men engaging in sexual activity with two other girls, aged 16 and 17, on two separate occasions
11. Calerdale - West Yorkshire
Top row from left: Mohammed Akhtar, Mohammed Ziareb, Malik Quadeer, Imran Raja Yasin, Craig Mitchell and Haroon Sadiq; Centre row from left: Amir Shaban, Asad Mahmood, Sajid Adalat, Kamran Amin, Vaseem Adalat, Mohammed Rizwan Iqbal. Bottom row from left: Shahzad Nowaz, Shazad Nazir, Shafiq Ali Rafiq, Sarfraz Rabnawaz, Saquab Hussain, Nadeem Nassir
Nadeem Adalat was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 14 years, which was increased to a total of 16 years after appeal
12. Carlisle - Cumbria
Married father-of-four Azad Miah was jailed for 15 years after hounding girls as young as 12 for sex while running a brothel
13. Chelmsford - Essex
Mohammad Rostami was the ringleader of an Iranian sex gang
Gang member Mehdi Zare was also jailed for grooming a young girl for sex
Amin Kaveh (left) was jailed for 10 years for child sex offences. Asadollah Zare (right) received four years for drugs offences
14. Chesham - Buckinghamshire
Ringleader Nazakat Mahmood was jailed after a fourteen-year-old girl in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, was repeatedly abused by a grooming gang
Gang members and co-conspirators Ghulfaraz Nawaz and Harron Rauf were handed sentences between five-and-a-half to eight years
Omar Sharif was another member of the grooming gang who was handed a jail sentence
15. Coventry - West Midlands
Waqaar Khan, Kadeem Bourne, Kenan Kelly, Marcus Woolcock and Zahid Chaudhary
16. Derby - Derbyshire
Ian Yeoman, David Shardlow, Mark Adaoui, Ijaz Ahmed, Anthony Lambert and John Shaw
17. Halifax - West Yorkshire
A gang of 15 men from Halifax, West Yorkshire, abused two young girls between 2009 and 2011
18. Huddersfield - West Yorkshire
Ringleader Amere Singh Dhaliwal, (second row, left) was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years. The other members were Irfan Ahmed, Zahid Hassan, Mohammed Kammer, Mohammed Rizwan Aslam, Abdul Rehman, Raj Singh Barsran, Nahman Mohammed, Mansoor Akhtar, Wiqas Mahmud, Nasarat Hussain, Sajid Hussain, Mohammed Irfraz, Faisal Nadeem, Mohammed Azeem, Manzoor Hassan, Mohammed Akram, Niaz Ahmed, Asif Bashir and Mohammed Imran Ibrar
Talish Ahmed was brought to justice after abusing a girl when she was just 12-years-old between 1995 and 1998
Banaras Hussain and Mohammed Akram were also jailed for abusing the 12-year-old girl
19. Ilford and Barking - Essex
Nabeel Ahmed was jailed for rape
Hassan Raza was also jailed for his part in preying on an 18-year-old
20. Ipswich - Suffolk
Hamza Ali, Suran Uddin and Mohammed Sheikh abducted and used a teenager as a sex slave
21. Keighley - West Yorkshire
Top from left: Yasser Kabir, Faisal Khan, Israr Ali, Sufyan Ziarab. Second row: Tauqeer Hussain, Khalid Raja Mahmood, Saqib Younis, Hussain Sardar. Bottom row: Bilal Ziarab, Nasir Khan, Mohammed Akram and Zain Ali
22. Kirklees and Dewsbury - West Yorkshire
Following the horrendous abuse of eight young girls between 1999 and 2012, 24 men were finally jailed last year for their involvement in the ordeal
24. Middlesbrough - North Yorkshire
Shakil Munir,Sakib Ahmed and Ateeq Latif groomed teenage girls by offering them takeaway food, free lifts and even drugs
25. Newcastle - Tyne and Wear
Top from left: Eisa Mousavi, Mohammed Ali, Nashir Uddin, Monjur Choudhury, Taherul Alam, Habibur Rahim, Badrul Hussain, Carolann Gallon, Saiful Islam, AbdulHamid Minoyee, Prabhat Nelli, Abdul Sabe, Jahangir Zaman, Nadeem Aslam, Mohammed Azram, Yassar Hussain, Redwan Siddquee and Mohibur Rahman
26. Nottingham - Nottinghamshire
Waqas Akhtar and Mohammed Saeed Ahmed
27. Oxford - Oxfordshire
Mohammed Karrar, 38, and his brother Bassam Karrar, 34, and another set of brothers, Akhtar Dogar, 32, and Anjum Dogar, 31, were convicted alongside Kamar Jamil, 27, Assad Hussain, 32, and Zeeshan Ahmed, 28
Naim Khan, Mohammed Nazir and Raheem Ahmed
28. Peterborough - Cambridgeshire
Zdeno Mirga and Hassan Abdulla
Jan Kandrac and Renato Balog
Yasir Ali and Daaim Ashraf
29. Plymouth - Devon
Anthony Anantharajah, Saif Kahya and Abalzaq Salih
31. Ramsgate - Kent
Shershah Muslimyar, Rafiullah Hamidy and Tamin Rahmani were jailed for 14 years each
32. Rochdale and Oldham - Greater Manchester
From top row, left: Abdul Rauf, Hamid Safi, Mohammed Sajid and Abdul Aziz; (bottom row) Abdul Qayyum, Adil Khan, Mohammed Amin and Kabeer Hassan
33. Rotherham - South Yorkshire
Razwan Razaq was jailed for depraved sex attacks against girls
Umar Razaq and Mohsin Khan were among the gang of five who were imprisoned
Adil Hussain and Zafran Ramzan were members of the gang which groomed girls to believe they were in relationships and force them to have sex in cars and parks across Rotherham
34. Sheffield - South Yorkshire
Jasim Mohammed, Kawan Ahmed and Nzar Anwar
Saba Mohammed was jailed for perverting the course of justice, while Shangar Ibrahim was found guilty of rape
And lots more, but I messed up the editing somehow -AA
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