Derby sex gang convicted of grooming and abusing girls

A gang of men from Derby has been convicted of systematically grooming and sexually abusing teenage girls.

Many of the victims were given alcohol or drugs before being forced to have sex in cars, rented houses or hotels across the Midlands.

One girl described a sexual assault involving at least eight men.

The nine men were convicted during three separate trials, culminating in the convictions at Leicester Crown Court of the two ringleaders.

Reporting restrictions had been in place until the end of the third trial.

Twenty-seven girls came forward to say they had been victims, the youngest of whom was 12 and the oldest was 18. Convictions have been achieved for 15 of those.

Liaqat and Saddique were said to be the leaders of the gang

Abid Mohammed Saddique, 27, and Mohammed Romaan Liaqat, 28 – both married with children – were said to be the leaders of the gang.

Saddique, of Northumberland Street, Normanton, Derby, was convicted of four counts of rape as well as two counts of false imprisonment, two of sexual assault, three charges of sexual activity with a child, perverting the course of justice, and aiding and abetting rape.

Liaqat, of Briar Lea Close, Sinfin, Derby, was found guilty of one count of rape, two of sexual assault, aiding and abetting rape, affray, and four counts of sexual activity with a child.

Both pleaded guilty to causing a person under the age of 18 to be involved in pornography.

They will be sentenced on 7 January.

‘Complex investigation’

Derbyshire Police said they believed no money changed hands between those involved, and said such instances of abuse were a growing problem in the UK.

Detectives said it had been the most horrendous case of sexual exploitation they had ever faced.

 

“Start Quote

We are shocked by the scale of abuse we have uncovered and the impact it has had on the girls who were the victims of these callous men”

End Quote Det Insp Sean Dawson

The undercover investigation by Derbyshire Police, Operation Retriever, was split into three trials which have run since February.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Insp Sean Dawson said: “These convictions have brought an end to a lengthy and complex investigation that has been brought to court thanks to the bravery of the victims in this case.

“These two men are predatory sex offenders who, with their associates, have systematically abused and raped teenage girls.

“We are shocked by the scale of abuse we have uncovered and the impact it has had on the girls who were the victims of these callous men.

“Child sex exploitation is something that parents and carers across the country should be aware of.

“Parents and carers should talk to their children, take an interest in what they are doing and warn them not to go off with strangers, no matter how tempting it might seem.”

Thirteen men were charged in relation to Operation Retriever and 11 stood trial for a string of charges, not all sexual, relating to the case.

Of the original 13, a total of nine have been convicted of offences against vulnerable girls ranging from rape to false imprisonment.

 

Other defendants have already been sentenced for their offences

Other defendants already convicted and sentenced were: Akshay Kumar, 38, he admitted one count of causing a person under the age of 18 to be involved in pornography and was jailed for two years and 10 months.

Faisal Mehmood, 24, pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child before trial and was jailed for three years. He has now been deported to Pakistan.

Mohammed Imran Rehman, 26, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years after being found guilty of rape, while Graham Blackham, 26, was given a three-year sentence after he was convicted of two counts of breaching a sexual offences prevention order.

Liaqat’s brother Naweed Liaqat, 33, and Farooq Ahmed, 28, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and were both jailed for 18 months.

Ziafat Yasin, 31, was cleared of sex charges but pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine. He was jailed for three years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-11799797

Loss of Dreams

All of us have goals and hopes of what we will be someday, of the things we will accomplish, of the fame we may obtain. But when you have to spend so much time trying to avoid being abused and then coping with the healing, you start to think that the abuse and it’s consequences are the only things in your life. You may begin to resent the amount of time and money you are spending on healing. You may feel that opportunities and chances are passing you by because you have to spend so much energy on the abuse.

Healing and dealing with abuse are the most important things you can do for yourself right now. It may be frustrating to put your dreams on hold for a bit, but it’s not forever; it’s just for now. Your dreams and goals will still be there. They may even be bigger and better than you ever imagined because you have learned that you have worth and value and can do anything you put your mind to.

Source: How long does it hurt? by Cynthia L. Mather and Kristina Debye

Not Trusting Others

How do you trust anybody else if the people closest to you, the people who are responsible in some way for your well-being, education, daily bread, and shelter, are the people who hurt you? The world goes on tilt when somebody close to you molests you. This planet becomes a very frightening place when you find out that an important person in your life is not trustworthy.

If you don’t trust people right now, don’t feel like a freak. Your reaction is pretty normal and appropriate. Trust is a very major issue for people who are sexually abused because sexual abuse is about breaking trust. Whoever abused you was most likely someone you trusted. If it was a person in your family, then you can probably relate to the trust issue very easily. What bigger break of trust can there be than for a family member to hurt another family member?

Learning how to trust again can take a very long time- not because you’re slow or because this is an insurmountable issue. Learning to trust takes time because you are learning to trust human beings, and they can screw up very easily- and very frequently. When trust has been broken in such a major way as sexual abuse, you begin to want the people in your life never to make mistakes, never to lose their temper, always to thing you are right, and to look a lot like Superman.

Sorry, but it’s not going to happen. In the normal course of a day, people are going to let you down, break their word, hurt your feelings, and do all kinds of other things that don’t encourage trust. The trick is learning how to trust people with all their faults and weaknesses. Be clear here: I’m not talking about the abuser; trusting the abuser again is a different issue all together. I am talking about your friends, adults in your life, teachers, all the people you come in contact with.

It’s not easy, and it does take time. But through good counseling and some trial and error, you will begin to find people who are truly trustworthy. Eventually you will give them the gift of your trust.

Source: How long does it hurt? by Cynthia L. Mather and Kristina Debye

A Sense of Loss

As I have talked to survivors, both adult and teen, I have heard one common theme over and over: I’ve lost so much; I’ve been cheated. There’s no question that sexual offenders are thieves. They rob us of so many things that we have a right to own.

In every step of the healing journey, you get to make a choice: fall into the pit of self-pity and stay there, or spend a little time in the pit of self-pity and then move on. So let’s look at what may have been lost in your life. It’s okay to grieve for these things. It’s okay to mourn the losses. Ultimately, though, we have to move on in order to survive.

Source: How long does it hurt? by Cynthia L. Mather and Kristina Debye

I Should Have Been Smarter

It maybe that the abuser told you that he would hurt you if you told anyone about the abuse, or maybe she threatened to hurt someone or something you love. Nobody in his right mind is going to test this threat to see whether it’s a bluff- to see if the abuser is just kidding. If someone threatened you with bodily harm or threatened someone you love, you have some very good reasons for not stopping the abuse. You probably figured that your suffering was keeping others safe. That’s logical. Don’t get upset with yourself if that’s what you believed.

It could be that the abuser simply told you that no one would believe you, or maybe he convinced you that the abuse was all your fault. These statements can be just as paralyzing as the threat of someone hurting you. If you are told something over and over- “You’ll go to jail if anyone find’s out,”- you begin to believe it. This doesn’t mean you’re stupid or haven’t any common sense; it means that you were being abused!

Another possibility is that you were made powerless by caring too much for the abuser. You may have wanted so much to be loved by the abuser that you disregarded your own feelings. Or you may have worried about the abuser’s getting hurt more than about your getting hurt.

If that’s your situation, you may have a harder time seeing what’s happening as abuse because it’s so wrapped up in love and special attention. The abuser may have told you over and over again how special you are, how important to his life you are, how no one else in the world satisfies him the way you do. This is pretty powerful stuff and can be really difficult to disbelieve.

If this is what’s happening to you, let’s do a reality check. Being special is important, but it doesn’t mean you have to ignore your own feelings and needs. Being special can help you feel good about yourself, but it doesn’t have to be at a cost. Being special doesn’t have to hurt.

Source: How long does it hurt? by Cynthia L. Mather and Kristina Debye

I Should Have Stopped It

You may feel that you should have stopped the abuse,  that you should have been able to stand up to the abuser and tell him or her to knock it off.

Get a grip. Think about it! How could you have done that? How could you, a kid-maybe three, maybe nine, maybe seventeen- have had any control over the actions of this person who had some sort of power or authority over  you or who was bigger or stronger than you? How could you, a smaller, weaker, no-authority kid make the abuser listen to you? There is no way you could have stopped the abuser by yourself. Absolutely none.

Source: How long does it hurt? by Cynthia L. Mather and Kristina Debye

What Will People Say?

One of the toughest things to deal with after you tell about the abuse maybe the reaction of other people. Some folks are going to be wonderful. They are going to support you, encourage you, defend you.

A lot of people are going to be awful. They haven’t got a clue about how to deal with someone who has revealed that they have been sexually abused.

Some of it will be because they can’t deal with the idea of sexual abuse. Maybe they’ve never been exposed to tough things in their lives; they’ve had a fairy-tale existence with nothing bad in it. Or maybe your experience hits too close to home and reminds them of abuse they have suffered.

Other people will say ridiculous things like “Why didn’t you just tell him to stop?” or, my personal favorite, “I think you should just forget about it and get on with your life.” (Oh, right. Forget my entire childhood and pretend that nothing ever happened. No problem!)

Regardless of what people are saying, the one voice you need to hear above the others is your own reminding you that you did the right thing by telling. It’s not easy to discount or ignore the other voices. Maybe it will help if we talk about some of things you can expect people to say to you.

Source: How long does it hurt? by Cynthia L. Mather and Kristina Debye