BROTHERS FOUND GUILTY OF CHILD SEX ABUSE
Three brothers from Sheffield have been convicted of historical child sexual abuse crimes involving five victims.Kamran Ilyas, aged 38, and Kamar Ilyas, aged 39, were found guilty of five sexual offenses against a girl who was just 12 years old at the time they first met her in 2004.
Their convictions were handed down on Monday after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court, with sentencing scheduled for 22 June.
Amar Ilyas, aged 41, was convicted of 20 offenses involving five victims, including rape.
However, he did not appear at his September 2025 trial and is believed to have traveled abroad.
Due to restrictions on reporting Amar’s trial, his verdicts could only be announced now that the trials of his brothers have concluded.
A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
All three men were detained in 2020 and charged in 2023 after an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
In 2018, detectives from Operation Stovewood contacted a woman from Rotherham who was identified as possibly having been a victim of child sexual abuse.
Now in her 30s, she revealed she was groomed and raped by Kamar, and also sexually assaulted by Amar and Kamran from 2004 to 2008 at various locations across Sheffield.
During the period when he was approximately 17 or 18, Kamar encouraged a 12-year-old girl to meet him in Sheffield, where he proceeded to sexually abuse and rape her.
He subsequently introduced her to his brother, Amar, who raped her weekly over a three-year span, according to the NCA.
The woman described her fears of Amar, especially after he showed her a handgun kept in his car, which made her worried about harm to her family.
Further inquiries uncovered four more women who reported similar abuse by Amar during their teenage or young adult years.
Threatening gang rape, biting one girl, and brandishing a spanner during an attack in a car were among the coercive tactics used by Amar, the NCA reported.
It is believed Amar fled to Pakistan after his arrest.
Senior investigating officer Alan Hastings stated: 'Amar, Kamar, and Kamran Ilyas systematically intimidated vulnerable girls from Rotherham and Sheffield.
Amar exploited their fear to sexually abuse them and keep them silent.' He added that Amar targeted his victims either opportunistically or through extensive grooming efforts, with one girl enduring three years of abuse that also involved his brothers.
Despite the severity of their crimes, the women have shown remarkable courage and determination to bring the perpetrators to justice, which the investigation has helped achieve.
Kamar Ilyas, now residing in Chesterfield, was convicted of raping a girl under 13 and engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15.
Kamran Ilyas, also from Chesterfield, was convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15.
Operation Stovewood, established to investigate non-familial child sexual abuse in Rotherham from 1997 to 2013, is the largest of its kind in the UK, with 52 individuals convicted and sentences totaling over 1,500 years.
