Tuesday, September 04, 2018

Rotherham gang-of-eight 'sexually abused teenage girls

  • Nabeel Kurshid and Iqlak Yousaf are accused of raping a girl from Rotherham 
  • The victim was 14 at the time of the incident in Sherwood Forest, a court heard
  • Both men deny raping the girl who months later reportedly had an abortion
A Rotherham schoolgirl who was raped by multiple men was months later forced to have an abortion by her parents, a court has heard.
Nabeel Kurshid, 34, and Iqlak Yousaf, 33, along with a third man, are accused of taking the girl, 14 at the time, to Sherwood Forest and threatening to leave her there alone unless she had sex with them. 
The pair are among a group of eight men from Rotherham and Sheffield who are said to have targeted girls who were 'easy to exploit because they wanted to be loved'.
The alleged incident happened some time between August 2002 and August 2003, prosecutors at Sheffield Crown Court said.
Prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC said that the girl was given cannabis and was 'high as a kite'.
She said: 'Each defendant took turns in having sex with her.
'She was warned she had to do what she was told or she would be left there.'
Nabeel Kurshid, 34, arrives at Sheffield Crown Court where he denies raping a young girl in 2002 or 2003 
Nabeel Kurshid, 34, arrives at Sheffield Crown Court where he denies raping a young girl in 2002 or 2003 
Ms Colborne said the girl was bitten during the alleged attack, leaving marks on her neck.
She said: 'The defendants ensured her compliance by giving her drugs and threatening to abandon her in the forest.'
The prosecutor said: 'She became pregnant as a result of the group rape.
'Her parents forced her to have a termination. She suffered a great deal of psychological trauma as a result.'
Ms Colborne told the jury that the teenager, who is now in her thirties, was vulnerable and had a history of being exploited.
'She was passed from one group of Asian males to another and, over time, was very seriously abused.'
The prosecutor said the girl's parents found out about the alleged exploitation but were unsupportive - verbally abusing their daughter and locking her out when she arrived home late.
Kurshid and Yousaf both deny raping the girl. 
The eight men on trial allegedly took their victims to parks, abandoned buildings and 'secluded locations' to carry out sexual abuse, prosecutors allege.
The men were arrested as part of Operation Stovewood - a police investigation into sexual abuse launched after the Rotherham grooming scandal.
Iqlak Yousaf, 33, also denied raping the teenager who says she was later forced to have an abortion by her parents 
Iqlak Yousaf, 33, also denied raping the teenager who says she was later forced to have an abortion by her parents 
They face a total of 28 counts of sexual abuse of five girls over a five-year period from 1998 to 2003.
Charges include rape, aiding or abetting rape, indecent assault, supply of controlled drugs and false imprisonment.
Opening the case at Sheffield Crown Court, prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC, told the jury the girls were 'ostracised' from their lives by the defendants.
She said: 'This case concerns allegations of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s.
'When [the girls] were in their teens they were targeted, sexualised and in some instances subjected to acts of a degrading and violent nature at the hands of these men in dock.
'These were local girls with unsettled home lives.
'They were lured by the excitement of friendship of older Asian youths.
'None of them had the maturity to know they were being groomed and exploited.'
One of the men attempted to disguise himself at Sheffield Crown Court. Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar, 36, of Rotherham, faces four counts of indecent assault, one of supplying a controlled drug, one of rape, one of procuring a girl under 21 for unlawful sexual intercourse with another, one of aiding and abetting a rape and one of sexual assault
One of the men attempted to disguise himself at Sheffield Crown Court. Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar, 36, of Rotherham, faces four counts of indecent assault, one of supplying a controlled drug, one of rape, one of procuring a girl under 21 for unlawful sexual intercourse with another, one of aiding and abetting a rape and one of sexual assault
The jury was told two of the victims, who were sisters, were 'vulnerable' after being 'effectively abandoned' by their parents when they were young.
The girls were 'enthralled' by 'older Asian men' and believed they were 'loved' because they were 'receiving attention', Miss Colborne told the jury.
They thought they were 'living the high life' at the time and were frequently in cars stopped by the police.
However, this 'did not deter the abusers', the court heard.
Miss Colborne added: 'These sisters, like so many others were easy to exploit because they needed to be loved.'
She told the jury that five of the men, led by Mohammed Imran Akhtar, were friends who were 'content to pass the girls around'.
Akhtar, 37, 'befriended young girls' and 'passed them to his friends', the court heard.
'Rarely did any of the men act alone,' Miss Colborne added.
Akhtar, of Rotherham, faces four counts of indecent assault, one of supplying a controlled drug, one of rape, one of procuring a girl under 21 for unlawful sexual intercourse with another, one of aiding and abetting a rape and one of sexual assault.
Tanweer Ali, 37, of Rotherham, faces two counts of indecent assault, two counts of rape and one of false imprisonment.
Salah El-Hakam, 39, of Sheffield, faces one count of rape.
Nabeel Kurshid, 34, of Rotherham, faces two counts of rape and one of indecent assault.
Amjal Rafiq, 38, arrives at Sheffield Crown Court as one of a gang of eight men accused of rape and other sex offences. Ajmal faces one count of false imprisonment and one count of indecent assault
Amjal Rafiq, 38, arrives at Sheffield Crown Court as one of a gang of eight men accused of rape and other sex offences. Ajmal faces one count of false imprisonment and one count of indecent assault
Iqlak Yousaf, 34 of Rotherham, faces two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault.
Ajmal Rafiq, 38, of Rotherham, faces one count of false imprisonment and one count of indecent assault.
Asif Ali, 33, of Rotherham, faces three counts of indecent assault.
An eighth defendant, who cannot be named, faces three counts of rape and one of abducting a child.

An eighth defendant, who cannot be named, faces three counts of rape and one of abducting a child.
Earlier this week the court heard how one girl who was raped by multiple men was months later forced to have an abortion by her parents.
Nabeel Kurshid, 34, and Iqlak Yousaf, 33, along with a third man, are accused of taking the girl, 14 at the time, to Sherwood Forest and threatening to leave her there alone unless she had sex with them.
The alleged incident happened some time between August 2002 and August 2003, prosecutors at Sheffield Crown Court said.
The victim described how she initially disliked Ali Akhtar, of Rotherham.
Tanweer Ali (pictured) faces two counts of indecent assault, two counts of rape and one of false imprisonment
Tanweer Ali (pictured) faces two counts of indecent assault, two counts of rape and one of false imprisonment
However she eventually 'fell' for the delivery driver when he made her feel special by visiting her 'every day' after he finished his shift in the early hours of the morning.
She fell pregnant with his son at the age of 14 and gave birth to him when she was 15. The victim claimed sexual activity with Ali Akhtar continued throughout the pregnancy.
She told how after their son was born, she 'tricked' him into meeting him when he visited her hoping for sex.
She said: 'I never saw him again after that.'
The victim told how her sister was also allegedly abused by Ali Akhtar and said the abuse they suffered made it feel as though their childhoods were 'snatched away'.
The trial continues.

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