ROHEEZ KHAN

Seven men who groomed vulnerable girls in Rochdale have been brought to long-awaited justice after a dedicated GMP investigation into non-recent abuse was bravely supported by two survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE) who were ‘abused, degraded, and discarded’.

The men were today (Friday 13 June 2025) convicted at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court of a total of 50 offences that occurred between 2001 and 2006.

They are the latest convictions as part of Operation Lytton – an investigation by our specialist Major Investigations Team into non-recent CSE in Rochdale which has been supported by the multi-agency complex safeguarding team, Sunrise, alongside Rochdale Borough Council.

It follows a four-month long trial where defendants denied responsibility for their despicable crimes.

In the face of this both victims bravely gave compelling evidence in front of those men who subjected them to such horrific abuse when they were children.

The jury heard how the men preyed on the vulnerabilities of the women – who were as young as 13 at the start of the abuse.

Some of the men groomed the victims when they worked at an old market stall in the town which was run by Mohammed Zahid (64), who was nicknamed ‘Bossman’.

Taxi drivers in Rochdale would also be introduced to the girls for sexual exploitation.

Over years of offending, the men made the victims their ‘sex slaves’ and expected them to have sex wherever, whenever.

The men would groom the victims and abuse them on the Moors, the market, shops, houses and warehouses.

A comprehensive prosecution case was put together by GMP and the Crown Prosecution Service’s Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit to present the best evidence and to give the jury an informed understanding of what CSE is and its devastating impact.

Officers and specialist support services have continued to provide support to the survivors throughout this painstaking investigation.

This has seen investigators work closely and sensitively with the victims from the start of our investigation in September 2015 to build their trust in the police after they were let down by authorities at the time of the abuse.

We have aimed to work at a pace that has suited the survivors to piece together all the evidence to identify offenders, locate where abuse took place, and recount the traumatic abuse they faced.

All seven men denied any wrongdoing.

A jury unanimously found the following guilty: Roheez Khan, 39, of Athole Street, Rochdale, guilty of one offence of rape.