London: Twelve men of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin were today jailed for a total of more than 140 years after a British court found them guilty of sexually exploiting a vulnerable white teenage girl.
Eleven were jailed for rape and the 12th man was jailed for sexual activity with a child under 16 by Bradford Crown Court.
Their white British victim from the West Yorkshire town of Keighley in northern England was aged 13 and 14 when she was repeatedly raped and passed around between the men, the court heard during the trial.
The men were led by ringleader and drug dealer Ahmed Al-Choudhury, who facilitated most of the offences but then fled abroad to Bangladesh.
Judge Roger Thomas told them: “The attitudes of the majority of you have so clearly demonstrated to these proceedings has been contemptuous, disrespectful and arrogant on a scale that I have hardly seen before in many years of practice in criminal law.
“Exactly the same attitude to the 13/14 year old girl who you all sexually abused and exploited for your own selfish gratification. None of these defendants had any concern for the victim. They were totally uninterested in her welfare and what damage they were causing her.”
According to The Yorkshire Post, the trial heard how the teenager was repeatedly attacked over a period of 13 months between 2011 and 2012.
She was made to have sex in various locations in the town, including an underground car park and a church graveyard.
Khalid Raja Mahmood, 34, was given a 17-year extended sentence for rape and sexual activity with a child; Tauqeer Hussain, 23, was jailed for 18 years for rape; Yasser Kabir, 25, was jailed for 20 years for rape, sexual assault and causing a child to engage in sexual activity; Sufyan Ziarab, 23, was sentenced to 15 years for rape; Bilal Ziarab, 21, was jailed for 12 years for rape.
Israr Ali, 19, was sentenced to three-and-half years in a young offenders’ institution for rape; Nasir Khan, 24, was jailed for 13 years for rape; Zain Ali, 20, was sentenced to eight years in a young offenders’ institution for rape; Faisal Khan, 27, was jailed for 13 years for rape; Saqib Younis, 29, was also jailed for 13 years for rape.
Hussain Sardar, 19, was sentenced to six years in a young offenders’ institution for rape; and Mohammed Akram, 63, was jailed for five years for sexual activity with a child.
The court heard the victim now has post-traumatic stress disorder and clinical depression.
In a statement, she said: “My perception of what a normal relationship is, is warped. Trust issues effect every aspect of my life. I have also had many physical effects. I was physically assaulted and punched and kicked and these hurt when I am tired.
“My moods are very variable and can be up and down at any time. I have no coping mechanisms and feel out of control. The court process has been very difficult.