Two Rotherham grooming gang rapists convicted but still at large after fleeing trial
Three men found guilty of raping a teenage girl in Rotherham between 2008 and 2010. Two of the convicted rapists remain on the run, having failed to attend their trial.
Three convicted over Rotherham child rape — two defendants still missing
Two of three men convicted of grooming and raping a teenage girl in Rotherham are on the run, rotherhamadvertiser.co.uk reports, having failed to appear at Sheffield Crown Court for the conclusion of their trial.
A jury unanimously found all three defendants guilty on all counts on 12 November. The complainant, now in her 30s, was aged 13 to 14 when she was groomed and repeatedly raped by Mudasar Hussain, 36, his brother Ghazanfar Hussain, 40, and Khamir Khan, 36, between 2008 and 2010.
Mudasar Hussain, of Henley Grove Road, Bradgate, was convicted of 12 counts of rape. He first met the girl when she was 13, then groomed her with cannabis and alcohol before carrying out sustained abuse. Only Ghazanfar Hussain was present in the dock when the verdicts were returned.
Ghazanfar Hussain, of Rosebery Street, Bradgate, was found guilty of one count of rape. He drove the victim to a garage in Tinsley in April 2009, where he forced her to commit a sex act in a vehicle inspection pit. Her Honour Judge Sarah Wright noted that, while he did not groom the victim in the same way as his brother or Khan, he nonetheless took advantage of her when the opportunity arose.
Khamir Khan, of no fixed abode, was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of trafficking a person within the UK for sexual exploitation. He abused the teenager over seven months and offered her to other males as a "favour."
All three men had denied any wrongdoing during proceedings, claiming the abuse was either consensual or a case of mistaken identity.
The defendants' family members left court in tears as verdicts were delivered. Sentencing was scheduled for Sheffield Crown Court on 13 November — a hearing at which Mudasar Hussain and Khan were also absent.
The three were arrested as part of Operation Stovewood, a National Crime Agency investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
Melissa Garner, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Hussain and Khan had each separately groomed "a young and vulnerable girl with alcohol, drugs and gifts" before raping her multiple times at various locations around Rotherham. "Their abuse has caused the victim serious and lifelong harm," Garner said. "I want to recognise the victim for her strength throughout this case. Her determination in seeing this case through has been crucial in bringing these offenders to justice."
Philip Marshall, Head of Operation Stovewood, said officers were actively pursuing the two men across multiple lines of enquiry, both in the UK and overseas. "Mudasar Hussain and Kamir Khan have attempted to avoid justice but my officers are determined to find the men," Marshall said. He appealed for anyone with relevant information — however insignificant it may seem — to come forward and report it.
Source: Sky News