Grooming gang jailed for raping and abusing young girls
Men show no remorse as they are convicted of ‘inhuman’ crimes
A SERIES of trials that were almost derailed by Tommy Robinson, the English Defence League founder, have ended with 20 members of an Asian gang being convicted of abusing and raping girls as young as 11.
The gang members, who were mainly of Pakistani heritage and came from the Huddersfield area, passed victims around like “commodities” and used them for their own “sexual gratification”, a court heard.
Amere Singh Dhaliwal, the gang’s ringleader, was jailed for life earlier this year and told he must serve at least 18 years in prison by a judge who described his treatment of the girls as “inhuman”.
The abuse took place between 2004 and 2011 and involved victims aged between 11 and 17. Details of the case and the three trials can only now be disclosed after a judge agreed to lift reporting restrictions following a challenge from the media.
But the second trial almost collapsed in May when Mr Robinson was arrested for allegedly breaching reporting restrictions by filming outside the court.
He was jailed for contempt of court but his conviction was later quashed and the case is due to be heard again at the Old Bailey next week.
Throughout the three trials, jurors were told how the men, who used nicknames including Beastie and Dracula, had plied their victims with drink and drugs before sexually abusing them.
The girls, who were all considered vulnerable, described how they initially thought they were being shown genuine affection before the abuse began.
In at least one case the victim later attempted suicide and another had an abortion.
The abuse, which took place in car parks, hotels, takeaways and snooker halls across West Yorkshire, was largely aimed at white girls.
The first of the trials began in January this year and led to eight men, including Dhaliwal, being convicted. The 35-year-old father was found guilty of 22 rapes involving 11 young girls.
Judge Geoffrey Marson QC told the gang: “The extent and gravity of your offending far exceeds anything which I have previously encountered. It was a very significant campaign of rape and other sexual abuse.
“Children’s lives have been ruined and families profoundly affected.”
The second trial, which began in April, also resulted in eight defendants being convicted and the third trial, featuring four defendants ended on Oct 8.
At the conclusion of the first trial, Judge Marson said: “The way you treated these girls defies understanding – this abuse was vile and wicked.
“As cases of sexual abuse with which the courts have to deal, this case comes at the top of the scale. None of you has expressed any remorse for what you did.”
In the second trial, which ended in June, the eight men were given jail sentences of between five and 18 years.
Four more men were found guilty of a range of offences earlier this month following the third trial and will be sentenced on November 1.
Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, yesterday commended “the bravery of those who have suffered abuse in coming forward”.
The pattern of exploitation of largely white girls by groups of men of mainly Pakistani heritage uncovered in Huddersfield mirrors what has happened in a number of other towns including Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford.