Jail for Asian child sex gang
SIX members of a child sex ring were jailed for a total of 82 years yesterday for grooming vulnerable white girls for as little as “the price of a McDonald’s”.
The Asian men were convicted at the Old Bailey of a range of sex offences between 2006 and 2012 including multiple rape of a child under 13, child prostitution and administering a substance to “stupefy” a girl in order to engage in sexual activity.
Vikram Singh, 45, Arshad Jani, 33, Akbari Khan, 36, and Taimoor Khan, 29, from Aylesbury, Bucks, Asif Hussain, 33, from Milton Keynes, and Mohammed Imran, 38, from Bradford, were sentenced to terms ranging from 19 to three years in prison for their parts in the horrifying abuse. Many were friends from the Aylesbury area. Some were married with children.
Most of the charges related to child A, who was present in court to see the men sent down, while three related to girl B.
Both victims came from troubled backgrounds and wanted to feel grown- up when they were targeted by the men who showered them with cheap gifts such as alcohol, DVDs, food and occasionally drugs, the court heard.
In a statement, child A told of her feelings of “worthlessness” as she battled depression and alcohol addiction, adding: “I feel my teenage years were taken away.”
Sentencing, Judge John Bevan QC paid tribute to her bravery in laying bare her life “warts and all” and said the way some of the defendants took advantage of her vulnerability was “grotesque”.
Of child A, he said: “She sought friendship amongst Asian males in their 20s and for the price of a McDonald’s, a milkshake and cinema ticket, she became ‘ liked’ by stall holders in Aylesbury market, taxi and bus drivers.
“By 13 she was sexually experienced, confusing sexual gratifi cation for friendship and love.”
“If the men had pursued Asian under- age girls, they would have paid a heavy price in their community,” he added.
Child B is suing Buckinghamshire County Council for negligence resulting in the unnecessary suffering of the victims.