In Bradford, One Muslim child rapist goes down; Ten more go on trial

From local newspaper the Telegraph and Argus

Ansar Mahmood, 37, of Withins Close, Little Horton, Bradford, was sentenced to 15 years in prison at Bradford Crown Court Tuesday 7th March after being found guilty of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault against a girl under the age of 13 at a trial in January.

The charges include eight counts, including rape and sexual touching…A judge said there was an element of grooming in the offending, and Mahmood had offered money to keep the girl silent.

He told Mahmood, through a Punjabi interpreter: “You sought to secure her silence with offers of money. When you were arrested you denied the offences, as you did throughout your trial and you have continued to allege that she lied about you. Nobody who has just heard the brave young person here today could fail to be moved by what she said. The effect on her life has been devastating.

The court was told that Mahmood had no previous convictions, and was a “hard worker.” He sentenced Mahmood to 15 years in prison, saying he would only be eligible for parole after 10 years. When he was released he will be deported.

Meanwhile, in another courtroom 

A GIRL allegedly sexually assaulted while a resident of a children’s care home in Bradford has told a jury she and her friend were repeatedly given drugs and booze by a gang of men. . . She said they were also given vodka and whisky to drink by the men. Asked how many times she had been taken to the house, the girl said: “I wouldn’t be able to say, maybe 15.”

The court has heard that the 10 men allegedly preyed on their two “vulnerable” victims.

Opening the prosecutor’s case at Bradford Crown Court, Kama Melly QC told the jury that both girls were in the care of the state at the time, describing them as “sadly ripe and vulnerable to manipulation”.

Ms Melly told the court how one victim, who was aged 14 at the beginning of her alleged abuse, was a resident of a care home after having a turbulent upbringing. The court heard how she ran away from the home with a friend, who was also 14, after acquiring a bottle of vodka and was approached by a man in a car. In the months that followed, Ms Melly said they were subjected to a range of sexual abuse at the hands of the ten men through a variety of different methods “to satisfy their sexual desires”.

Basharat Khaliq, 37, of Deanwood Crescent, Allerton, Bradford, denies assault by penetration and five charges of rape. Saeed Akhtar, 54, of Back Girlington Road, Bradford, denies two charges of causing or inciting child prostitution and one of rape. Naveed Akhtar, 42, of Newport Place, Manningham, Bradford, and Izar Hussain, 31, of St Leonard’s Road, Girlington, Bradford, deny three charges of rape, with Hussain also denying an additional allegation of attempted rape. Mohammed Usman, 30, of Quaker Street, Undercliffe, Bradford, and Kieran Harris, 27, of Fir Parade, Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, both deny two charges of rape.

Yasar Majid, 36, of Laxfield Drive, Milton Keynes, denies rape, and Fahim Iqbal, 27, of no fixed abode, denies aiding and abetting rape. Zeeshan Ali, 31, of Durham Terrace, Girlington, Bradford, denies a charge of sexual assault, and Parvaze Ahmed, 35, of Farcliffe Road, Heaton, Bradford, denies three charges of rape.

The court was told how the men were arrested after the partner of one of the alleged victims rang a BBC TV studio following a report on sexual abuse. The girl asked her partner to call the BBC Look North studio to detail her alleged abuse after viewing a piece relating to a sex abuse gangs in Rotherham.

Ms Melly told the court: “Frustrated at the lack of coverage… her partner contacted Look North, telling them the abuse was ‘much wider than Rotherham’.” Look North gave the name of the victim to police safeguarding after they were contacted. The prosecutor described how police had spoken to one of the victims after her number was found on a piece of paper during West Yorkshire Police’s Operation Kellerabbey, which investigated sexual exploitation in Keighley. But the prosecutor said nothing was done by police until years later when the victim rang the television studio.

Asked if she had conspired with her friend about the allegations, the girl said: “No. Why would I need to when what I’m saying is what happened.”

The trial continues.