Nine men on trial for the rape of a teenage girl in Sheffield

As the latest Muslim rape gang trial in Oxford comes to an end, the latest rape gang trial in Yorkshire begins at the Crown Court Sheffield. From the Sheffield Star. They can’t gloss over these defendants as ‘Asian’ – some are ‘members of the Kurdish community’. 

The rape and sexual exploitation of a vulnerable teenage girl who was used “like a piece of meat” by nine men in Sheffield wasn’t investigated until five years after police were first informed, a court has heard.

When the victim initally disclosed “one rape and incidents of sex with adult men as a minor” in 2011, no crime was recorded by South Yorkshire Police, and when she complained about being raped in May of the same year, “that investigation was too short-lived,” prosecutor Peter Hampton told a jury at Sheffield Crown Court, on Wednesday.

“By the time she fell into the clutches of these defendants and others who abused and exploited her she was already broken,” he said.

“She may as well have had a target on her back as far as those who were criminally minded were concerned. She was vulnerable by virtue of her immaturity and social isolation.

He told the court how the girl had been referred to social services at the age of six, and added to the child protection register when she was nine. Her mother, an alcoholic, died when the girl was 13, and by the age of 15 she reported feeling suicidal and was placed with a foster carer, Mr Hampton said. “Her life descended into chaos,” 

An older woman, named Amanda Spencer, (sentenced in 2014 and 2017 for her role luring other girls. She wasn’t that much older herself) “effectively and efficiently” groomed the girl when she was aged 15, after meeting her in Fitzalan Square. Amanda Spencer “knew many members of the Kurdish community” and introduced her to some of the men who it is alleged would rape her, between September 7, 2010, and March, 26, 2011.

When the girl “did speak to those in authority, she found that no effective action was taken to stop what was happening.”

“Finally in 2016/17 she was interviewed by officers responsible for the investigation that led to these proceedings,” Mr Hampton said.

Usman Din, 34, of Seaton Crescent, Manor Top, denies three counts of rape and one count of trafficking.

Tony Juone, 61, of Pitt Lane, Manor Top, Shangar Ibrahimi, 29, of Cemetery Road, Barnsley, Kamaran Mahmoodi, 39, of Walkley Road, Sheffield, and Saman Mohammed, 41, of Fox Street, Burngreave, deny one count of rape.

Farhad Mirzaie, 28, of Ironside Road, Gleadless Valley, and Kawan Ahmed, 31, of Margate Drive, Fir Vale, both deny two counts of rape.

Jasim Mohammed, 37, of Maxwell Way, Burngreave, denies three counts of rape.

Nzar Anwar, 40, of Exeter Drive, Broomhall, denies one count of rape and one count of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

A tenth man, Saba Mohammad, 40, of Faranden Road, Darnall, denies conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The trial is scheduled to last six weeks.