Grooming gangs: Eight men jailed in UK for sexually abusing teenagers

Eight men have been convicted and sentenced to nearly 58 years in prison for sexually exploiting two teenage girls in Keighley in England's West Yorkshire during the late 1990s. The survivors, aged 13 and 16 at the time, endured years of abuse that came to light after one came forward as an adult.

 

The convictions follow two trials at Bradford Crown Court, exposing the men's systematic exploitation of vulnerable young girls.

 

The issue of grooming gangs in the UK has been a persistent and contentious topic. A majority of offenders in these cases have been men of Pakistani origin, leading to intense public and political scrutiny. 

 

 

Who are the abusers?

 

Five men were sentenced after the first trial concluded in October 2023:

 

Amreaz Asghar (47): 4.5 years for rape.

Perwaz Asghar (50): 6.5 years for two indecent assaults.

Mohammed Din (47): 14 years for 11 counts of rape.

Sajid Mahmood Khan (45): 3 years for rape.

Zehroon Razak (47): 6.5 years for rape.

 

Three other men were convicted in a second trial, which ended in December 2024:

 

Fayaz Ahmed (45): 7.5 years for two counts of rape (sentenced in absentia).

Imtiaz Ahmed (62): 9 years for rape (sentenced in absentia).

Ibrar Hussain (47): 6.5 years for two counts of rape.

 

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Fayaz Ahmed and Imtiaz Ahmed, who remain at large.

 

Harrowing testimony

 

The survivors described enduring years of abuse, with one recalling being "plied with drugs and alcohol" to numb the trauma. She recounted men queuing to assault her in a flat, leaving her with lifelong psychological scars.

 

"Nothing can ever fix the damage I have been through. I lost my identity because of them," a suvivors told BBC news.

 

'Institutional failures'

 

Judge Ahmed Nadim criticised police and social services for failing to protect the victims, describing their response as "ill-equipped" or "disinterested."

 

Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Greenbank praised the victims for their courage:

"The abuse robbed them of their childhood. I hope these sentences provide some justice and closure."

 

Michael Quinn of the Crown Prosecution Service called the men’s actions “wicked, vile, and sordid.” He urged other victims of sexual exploitation to come forward, emphasizing that it is never too late to seek justice.

 

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a rapid audit to examine the scale of gang-based exploitation across the UK, focusing on cultural, societal, and demographic factors.

 

Controversy over grooming gangs

 

The UK has been dealing with the issue of grooming gangs, centering around groups of men exploiting vulnerable young girls, often through manipulation, coercion, and abuse. High-profile cases in towns like Rotherham, Rochdale, and Keighley have revealed organized networks of offenders targeting predominantly white British girls, with victims often subjected to prolonged and systematic abuse. 

 

Victims often reported being ignored or dismissed by police and social services, citing disbelief or reluctance to act. Over 1,400 victims were identified in the Rotherham case alone, with similar patterns observed elsewhere.

 

A majority of offenders in these cases have been men of Pakistani origin, even as the British government has labelled them as South Asians. The focus on the perpetrators’ ethnicity has sparked debates about political correctness and fears of being labeled racist, which some claim hindered early interventions. 

 

Recently, a controversy erupted after Tesla founder Elon Musk, through his social media platform X, raised the issue of grooming gangs in the UK, which critics claim was aimed polarising the issue.

 

Amid the controversy, Interior Minister Yvette Cooper told parliament that she had ordered a three-month "rapid audit of the current scale and nature of gang-based exploitation across the country."