6 More Convicted in Rotherham Rape Gangs Review

Six men of Pakistani origin have been convicted of the historic grooming and raping of vulnerable under-aged English girls in Rotherham.

Masaued Malik (35), Aftab Hussain (40), Abid Saddiq (38), Sharaz Hussain (35), and two men aged 33 and 35 who cannot be named for legal reasons were found guilty of charges including the rape and sexual assault of seven girls under the age of 16 between 1998 and 2002, following an eight week trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

Saddiq was convicted of two counts of rape, five of indecent assault, and two of child abduction, while Sharaz Hussain, Malik, and Aftab Hussain were convicted of indecent assault. The two others were convicted of indecent assault and rape. The six men will be sentenced on Friday.

The National Crime Agency, the British equivalent of the FBI, described the victims as “vulnerable and craving attention and love” when they were “deliberately targeted for the sole purpose of becoming sexual objects for the men”.

Continuing in a statement, the NCA said: “At the time, none of them had the maturity to understand they were being groomed and exploited, believing that sex was some kind of ‘necessary price’ for friendship.

“They were given alcohol and drugs, belittled, and passed around to other men for their gratification, and were vulnerable because of their need to be loved. All seven suffer the emotional effects of the abuse to this day.”

All of the abusers lived in Rotherham and surrounding areas, and “a feature of their sexual offending was they would often act as a group, happy to share girls around amongst each other.”

The law enforcement agency detailed that all of the felons knew the girls were underage and would regularly park outside of the girls’ schools, waiting for them. They were also said to be often hanging around parks, bus stations, or in Rotherham town centre, seeking young girls to approach, groom, and sexually exploit.

Under the control of drugs and alcohol given to them by the men, the girls felt obliged to comply with the men’s demands, the six said to turn violent if they said no.

The jury heard that in one instance, Saddiq had raped a child in an alleyway when she was 14 or 15 years old, then taunted her mother over the assault.

And yet the authorities jailed Tommy Robinson and others for highlighting this abuse?