‘It will take time to rebuild the West End community’
SICKENED neighbours in Newcastle’s West End have condemned perverse sex abusers for giving the area a bad name.
A total of 18 predators have been convicted for exploiting some of the city’s most vulnerable girls and women.
But their sordid sex parties have brought disrepute to their community.
Now, that community has hit out at those who were snared in Operation Sanctuary and have branded them “vile”, as they try to rebuild the area’s reputation.
Retired public transport worker Amtaj Ali, 66, who lives in the city’s West End, said: “They shouldn’t do things like that, it has left the West End with a bad name.
“I have been here since 1977 and I’ve been a bus driver and taxi driver, but in all my years here I have never heard of anything like this.
“I’m shocked. Our community has hard working men and businessmen. Newcastle is our second home and we love the Geordie people. We have met good people but this has broken my heart.
“If I was the judge I would give them double life inside the jail and they would never come out.
“This has brought shame on our community and over our young children. There are so many questions; why, why, why?
“It will take time to rebuild the good name of the community in the West End. Other nationalities give us dirty looks because we are Asian. They say they are all the same but we are not.
“I don’t know how long it will take to bring this community back to normal.”
Barber Zee Zarei, 29, said: “I think this has brought shame to our community. I think these people should be kept in jail for ever. Everyone is talking about it and it will take one or two years for the area to shake this off. It probably gives the Asian community a bad name.”
Navy engineer John Sulton, 32, who also lives in the West End, said: “It has definitely brought shame. It is not acceptable to anyone. “It’s not acceptable behaviour. “We all know who lives next door but we don’t know what goes on inside. People need to be vigilant.
“This has brought a spotlight on this sort of thing and more people are aware of what has been going on. ”
Mum-of-six Brenda Matheson, 47, of Ellsemere Road, said: “I have six daughters and my youngest is 16 and I walk everywhere with her.
“This case has brought a lot of fear to the area. I have been here for 13 years and one of the guys in Operation Sanctuary was in the same street.
“They are vile and horrible. I don’t know what they get out of it, they’re sick.
“It’s shocking, I think of my kids’ safety and I go with them to the shops. They should get life in jail.”