Rochdale grooming gang ‘used vulnerable young girls as sex slaves’, trial hears

Two young girls were groomed to become ‘sex slaves’ for a group of Asian men in Rochdale who preyed on their vulnerabilities, a court has heard.

From the age of 13, the girls were expected to have sex with them ‘whenever and wherever’ they wanted, jurors at Manchester Minshull Street Court were told.

Rossano Scamardella KC, prosecuting, said the eight men on trial were responsible for the rape and sexual exploitation of the two girls from 2001.

He said: ‘Through no fault of their own, the troubled backgrounds of the girls made them susceptible to the advances of these men, and others who behaved just like them.

‘Their treatment at the hands of these predators was appalling.

‘They were children passed around for sex, abused, degraded and then discarded. That it was the two of them that were exploited in this way was not by chance.’

They would also be driven around by men and picked up and dropped off at various flats and houses, said Mr Scamardella.

The prosecutor went on: ‘These men preyed upon those vulnerabilities for their own perverted sexual gratification in the most humiliating and degrading way imaginable.

‘It would begin by making the girls feel like grown-ups as they were given alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, places to stay and people to be with.

‘Over time it is perhaps easy to see how they became beholden to men who, for the first time in their lives, treated them properly and gave them the attention they so desperately craved.

‘But that was to quickly change, and drastically so.

‘The girls were expected to have sex with these men and others, whenever and wherever the men wanted.

‘They were often forced to have oral sex and vaginal sex with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses.

‘On other occasions they would be required to have sex in cars, car parks, alleyways or disused warehouses. Wherever and whenever these men wanted it.

‘Unprotected sex was routine. The girls were lied to about it being forbidden for Muslim men to use protection so the men would often ejaculate in their mouths or inside them.

‘Both girls would be expected to answer calls at all times of the day and night from the men that wanted to have sex with them.

‘(Girl A) told the police as part of the investigation that often she would be on the phone to one man whilst more than one other would be on hold.

‘They became sex slaves.’

He added: ‘Both girls were vulnerable. They had deeply troubled home lives and were known to the authorities. Their school attendance was poor, they were often missing from home and their behaviour at times was difficult.

‘The defendants were only too aware of their tender ages and the difficulties they were experiencing with day-to-day life. It was obvious that they craved the attention that their home lives and families did not provide, which made them easy prey for older men to exploit.’

The alleged sexual offences, said to be committed between 2001 and 2006, include rape, indecent assault and indecency with a child.

The defendants have denied all the charges.

They are: Mohammed Zahid, 64, of Station Road, Crumpsall, Manchester; Naheem Akram, 48, of Manley, Road, Rochdale; Mohammed Shazad, 43, of Beswicke Royds Street, Rochdale; Nisar Hussain, 43, of Newfield Close, Rochdale; Roheez Khan, 39, of Athole Street, Rochdale; Arfan Khan, 40, of Grouse Street, Rochdale; Mushtaq Ahmed, 66, of Corona Avenue, Oldham; and Kasir Bashir, 50, of Napier Street East, Oldham.

Mr Scamardella said the defendants – at the relevant times – were ‘broadly speaking’ either taxi drivers or connected to Rochdale market.

Zahid – known then as Bossman or Knickerman – was said to have given free underwear from his lingerie stall on the market to both complainants when he was aged in his mid-40s, said the prosecutor.

He also allegedly gave them money, alcohol and food in return for the expectation of regular sex for him and other Asian men from Rochdale, the court heard.

Mr Scamardella told the court: ‘Both girls were well known to social services and other agencies, and it was no secret that both girls were having sex with older Asian men.

‘No reports were made to the police and nothing was done.

‘No action was taken to stop what was happening to these two girls or to stop other similarly vulnerable girls suffering the same fate.’

In 2015, Girl A contacted Greater Manchester Police to say she had been the victim of child sexual exploitation and Girl B later followed with similar allegations.

Neither complainant can be identified for legal reasons to protect their anonymity.

The prosecutor said Rochdale and surrounding parts of Greater Manchester had been ‘blighted by this type of child sexual exploitation’ and that Girl A was the abuse victim of many other Asian men.

Girl A, he said, had told local children’s services in 2004 that she was ‘hanging around’ with groups of older men, drinking and taking cannabis.

She went on to say she was sleeping with a large number of men after ‘Bossman’ had introduced her to his friends, said Mr Scamardella.

The trial continues.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: Mum ‘fears for safety of all women’ after daughter’s sadistic killer is released

MORE: Two students dead including teen gunman and one wounded in high school shooting

MORE: Luxury watch shop manager killed himself a day after £1,380,000 robbery