A gang of twelve men, aged between 19 and 63, have been jailed for up to 20 years for grooming and repeatedly raping a vulnerable schoolgirl, aged between 13 and 14, for their “selfish, sexual gratification”.
It is said that the men had raped the teenaged victim after giving her alcohol and cannabis at locations in Keighley, West Yorkshire; locations which included an underground carpark as well.
The court heard that the victim was repeatedly raped by the men over 13 months, between 2011 and 2012, in encounters arranged by a drug dealer.
Bradford Crown court convicted 11 of the men of raping the girl, while the 12th man was sentenced for sexual activity with the victim.
Sufyan Ziarab was one of the men who allegedly rape the victim in the underground carpark of an abandoned police station in Keighley. He allegedly told investigating detectives that the girl was “a prostitute you don't pay for”.
While sentencing the men, Judge Roger Thomas QC said, “She was only 13 or 14 when the 12 of you took such terrible and heartless sexual advantage of her. This is a category of case which involves the sexual exploitation of usually young, vulnerable girls by groups of men who take advantage of a child for their own selfish, sexual gratification.”
Tauqeer Hussain (23), Yasser Kabir (25), Sufyan Ziarab (23), Bilal Ziarab (21), Israr Ali (19), Nasir Khan (24), Saqib Younis (29), Hussain Sardar (19), Zain Ali (20), and Faisal Khan were all convicted of rape. Mohammed Akram (63), was convicted of sexual activity with the girl.
