FAMILY VOW TO CLEAR RAPIST’S NAME
Man jailed for 29 years ‘in prison for something he didn’t do’
HE was convicted of crimes that sickened the country and will serve 29 years in jail.
But today the family of Jahanger Zaman have spoken out in defence of the predatory rapist and have vowed to clear his name.
To his family he was the centre of the home, a devoted husband and father who was always there when his children needed him.
But Operation Shelter exposed Zaman as a criminal who exploited some of Newcastle’s most vulnerable girls for sex.
The dad-of-three’s loved ones are still coming to terms with the fact he will be locked up for almost 30 years after being convicted of some of the gravest crimes in UK law.
Now, as Zaman continues to protest his innocence, his daughter has opened her heart about the family’s devastation. And today the 25-yearold, who we have agreed not to name, has revealed how the monster described in court is nothing like the father she knew.
She said: “My dad has always been there for us. No one expected this. He’s got a wife and kids. Why would he want to carry on like that?
“I have no words to describe how I feel when he is called a rapist. Our lives will never be the same again.”
The Zamans’ lives were torn apart when police raided their family home, on Hadrian Road, Fenham, in 2014.
Zaman, who worked as a taxi driver in Middlesbrough, was arrested and his children began to hear allegations that he had been involved in a large-scale grooming network, operating in Newcastle’s West End.
The family learnt Zaman had been arrested by officers working
My dad sat me down and told me what was happening, but I never believed it. Zahanger Zaman’s daughter
on Shelter. The investigation, part of the Northumbria Police’s sex exploitation initiative Operation Sanctuary, was probing sex attacks on vulnerable girls and women, who were lured to parties and plied with drink and drugs then used for sex. And when Zaman’s family discovered what he was being accused of they were devastated.
Eventually, Zaman explained to his children that he was suspected of a range of very serious offences.
“My dad sat me down and told me what was happening, but I never believed it,” said his daughter. “We were just so scared of what was going to happen. It was so hard for my mum.
“They have been married for more than 25 years. We were just broken when we heard the word ‘rape.’ We couldn’t believe anything like this would happen in our family.
“We just thought; ‘why is this happening to us?’”
Zaman was charged with rape, conspiracy to incite prostitution and supplying drugs, along with separate offences of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
He was convicted following trials at Newcastle Crown Court. The 45-year-old was jailed for 29 years his month and ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life. He was also barred from working with children or vulnerable adults and was given a sexual harm prevention order and a serious crime prevention order. The court heard Zaman gave girls the class B drug ‘MCat’ and demanded sex acts in return for more of the addictive substance. In jailing him, Judge Penny Moreland said: “I have no doubt you have already caused incalculable serious harm to the victims of your offending.” Zaman’s daughter now speaks to her father on the phone daily and is determined to find a way to prove his innocence. Seventeen men and one woman were convicted as part of Shelter and jail sentences totalling more than 180 years have now been passed down. During proceedings, the court heard how Northumbria Police had paid a convicted child rapist, known only as XY, to infiltrate the gang and provide information. However, the informant made complaints against his police handler, claiming he had been mistreated and alleging that the officer had asked him to plant drugs in individuals’ properties and take vulnerable girls to the Shelter sex parties himself.
The allegations were investigated by the National Crime Agency (NCA) before being passed on to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Both organisations found no evidence of misconduct by Northumbria Police.
Chief Constable Steve Ashman stands by the decision to use XY saying he provided vital information that helped keep potential victims safe.
The Chronicle has seen transcripts of what are thought to be the NCA’s interviews with XY.
During questioning he claims his handler instructed him to set up Zaman after detectives were unable to find any evidence he was involved in the offending.
XY’s claims were not believed, but Zaman’s daughter is hoping to find evidence to support the informant’s allegations so her father can appeal his convictions.
And she says Zaman himself wants a public inquiry into the use of XY. “He says he is serving time in prison for something he hasn’t done,” she said.
“He is determined to keep fighting to prove his innocence.”