Newcastle grooming gang passed schoolgirl around like a toy

A grooming gang who took part in a Black Lives Matter protest while on bail used a schoolgirl 'as a toy' in a horrific rape and abuse ordeal lasting nine months.

Brothers Mohamed and Omar Badreddin met the 13-year-old in Newcastle City Centre and identified her as someone who could be easily manipulated.

They groomed her with alcohol and cigarettes before they began to abuse the young girl - and threatened to 'kill her and take her out of the country'.

The brothers first took the then-13-year-old to Castle Keep in Newcastle, and she had been groomed and plied with so much alcohol she vomited and couldn't walk properly.

Mohamed Badreddin sexually assaulted and raped her then left her for Omar Badreddin to rape her as another man, Hamoud Al-Soaimi, laughed. She was also attacked behind a Five Guys restaurant and at her home.

The grooming gang have now been jailed for a total of 36 years after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

The Badreddins, who also took part in a riot as part of the Black Lives Matter group while on bail for the appalling offences against the girl, were convicted of a series of rapes and sexual assaults, along with Huzaefa Aleboud and Hamoud Al-Soaimi.

The brothers also pleaded guilty to violent disorder in relation to a clash between Black Lives Matter protesters and the North East Frontline Patriots in 2020, while they were on bail for the sex offences and banned from the city centre. They were with the Black Lives Matter group and Omar threw two bottles and Mohamed also threw a missile.

As the three of the four were jailed, the girl, who is from South Tyneside, outlined the devastating impact the offences have had.

She said she had a happy childhood until she met them, adding: 'That's when it all went wrong. It's because of them I feel I've been robbed of my childhood, which should have been a happy time. I can never get that childhood back.

'My childhood turned into what I can only describe as a living nightmare. After meeting them I spent all my days in Newcastle being tortured by them.

'No person, never mind a young girl, should experience the awful things they did to me. I was struggling so badly that I would self harm to try to release some of the pain I was feeling.

'Those scars will be with me for life but as well as being physically scarred I'm emotionally scarred. Those scars are a constant reminder to me of what I've lived through.

'My whole family crumbled when they found out what I had been through. It must have been heartbreaking for my mam to hear what they did to me. My mam was the first person I told and she has been there for me throughout this very long and difficult process. I feel sad she's been put through so much pain.

'I was so angry and would pull clumps of hair out then punch walls. I would describe myself as going off the rails. I felt I was cracking up.

'I used to wake up in the middle of the night to the feeling things were crawling all over me. I would get two or three baths to try to get rid of the feeling.

'I needed help, my family needed help but help was not there. It took so long for me to get the help I needed for my mental health.'

She added that she feels unable to go out in the city centre anymore in case she sees their friends and added: 'I've been tortured by those men. They have hurt me in so many ways.'

She said after huge delays in the case, she threw up when told they had been found guilty and now feels 'blank and numb'.

The young girl added: 'What I have been through has been horrendous. I would hate anyone else going through what I went through. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

'I've got the feeling my life has been ruined forever and I don't know if I will ever get over it. Whenever I think about what they did to me I can still see every detail very clearly in my head.

'Even though they will be sentenced for what they have done I feel like I've been given a life sentence. I just want to be rid of those horrible thoughts and memories and to be free.

'I've suffered so much over the years but I feel like I'm still the one being punished.

'How can this be right when I've done nothing wrong.'

Mohamed Badreddin, known as 'Jokey', carried out a number of sex attacks, including rapes, on a pile of rocks at the Castle Keep. In one of the attacks, others were present. The court heard she felt she couldn't say anything to the Badreddin brothers because they had threatened to kill her and take her out of the country.

Omar Badreddin, known as 'Antonio', also raped the girl at the Castle Keep on more than one occasion and behind Five Guys in the city centre.

Aleboud sexually assaulted her at the Castle, badgering her by saying 'you let Jokey and Omar'. He went on to rape her at the same location more than once and also behind Five Guys. Aleboud also assaulted her, hitting her and making her lip bleed.

Al-Soaimi sexually assaulted the same girl, including at the Castle Keep, where he told her 'It's my turn now'. He also sexually assaulted a 12-year-old, who said she was left feeling anxious, distressed and struggling to cope.

Mohamed Badreddin, 23, was convicted of six counts of rape and one of assault by penetration. He was jailed for 13 years.

Omar Badreddin, 26, was convicted of five counts of rape. He was jailed for 18 years.

Aleboud, 23, was convicted of two counts of rape, assault by penetration and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Al-Soaimi, 21, was convicted of three counts of sexual assault and assault by penetration. He was sentenced to two years suspended for two years with 180 hours unpaid work.

They were all told they must sign the sex offenders register and will be subject to sexual harm prevention orders and restraining orders.