Judge will accept majority verdicts in abuse trial

JURORS DELIBERATING in the trial of nine people accused of grooming vulnerable girls have been told the judge will accept majority verdicts.

The jury at Leeds Crown Court has heard that the eight men and one woman treated three socially isolated girls from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, as “objects to be used and abused at will”.

The girls were lured into associating with older men before being treated as sexual commodities against their wishes, the trial has been told.

The eight men on trial are facing charges including rape and attempted rape, while the female defendant faces a count of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Jurors started deliberating on Thursday, following a monthlong trial.

Yesterday morning, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC told them: “I’m going to ask you to retire once more to try to reach unanimous verdicts on all the charges.

“The time has now come, if you cannot reach unanimous verdicts, I can accept majority verdicts from you. By majority verdicts, I mean verdicts upon which 10 or more of you agree.”

The defendants are Banaris Hussain, 36, Umar Zaman, 31, Mohammed Arif, 32, and Samuel Fikru, 32, and five others who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Opening the case to the jury last month, prosecutor Richard Wright QC said: “These men cared only for themselves and viewed these girls as objects to be used and abused at will.”

The jurors were later sent home for the day and will continue their deliberations today.