Seven men convicted of grooming teenage girls in Huddersfield | Crime

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Seven men convicted of sexually exploiting young girls in Huddersfield “robbed their victims of their childhood and abused them in truly appalling ways”, police have said.

The two teenagers were “systematically groomed and exploited” by the men, who “viewed the girls as merely objects, to be used and abused at will”, according to prosecutors.

Detectives said the fact that one of the girls was targeted as she did her paper round “speaks volumes about the sheer depravity of this case”.

The guilty verdicts at Leeds crown court brings the total number of men convicted following West Yorkshire Police’s Operation Tendersea investigation into child sexual exploitation in the town to 34.

The trial, which came to an end on Tuesday, is the sixth to flow from the Operation Tendersea inquiry.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Usman Ali, Banaras Hussain, Abdul Majid, Gul Riaz and three other defendants, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of a total of 10 counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault.

The charges related to the exploitation of two young girls in the Huddersfield area between 1995 and 2007, the CPS said.

After the convictions, DCI Richard McNamara, from West Yorkshire Police, said: “The men involved in these vile offences have robbed their victims of their childhood and abused them in truly appalling ways.

“During the trial, the court heard that one victim came to the attention of her abusers while she was on a paper round, which speaks volumes about the sheer depravity of this case.”

Michael Quinn, head of the Complex Casework Unit at CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “This case involved the cynical exploitation of two young girls by a group of older men in the Huddersfield area who were targeted because of their vulnerability.

“These men systematically groomed and exploited the girls for their own sexual gratification.

“The girls were drawn into a dark and sinister world where they were passed around to men who used them sexually without any regard for whether they were consenting.”

Quinn said: “Sometimes the girls were plied with alcohol or drugs. They were unable to make truly free or informed choices about anything they did with these men. Their abusers viewed the girls as merely objects, to be used and abused at will.

“At the heart of this case are the two victims. They have suffered immensely as a result of their childhood abuse. We would like to acknowledge their great courage in coming forward to assist the investigation and then to support the prosecution.”

The 27 men already convicted in relation to Operation Tendersea have received jail sentences totalling 322 years.

The seven defendants will be sentenced on Wednesday, the CPS said.

  • Ali, 34, of Park Drive, Huddersfield, was found guilty on Tuesday of two counts of rape.

  • Hussain, 39, of Scarborough Road, Shipley, was found guilty of one count of rape.

  • Majid, 36, of Lightcliffe Road, Huddersfield, was found guilty of two counts of rape.

  • Riaz, 43, of Balmoral Avenue, Huddersfield, was found guilty of two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault.

  • Three men in their thirties, who cannot be named, were each found guilty of one count of rape.

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