YORKSHIRE GROOMING GANG MEMBER WALKS FREE AFTER ABUSE CASE
A grooming gang member who was first arrested seven years ago has finally been sentenced - but has walked free from court.Sayeed Hafeez was 23 when he took a 15-year-old girl to two beauty spots in West Yorkshire and had sexual activity with her.
Bradford Crown Court heard the girl had already been groomed and abused by a number of other men who have previously been sentenced.
His Honour Judge Anthony Hatton said there was no evidence to suggest the girl had been "traded" to Hafeez, who is now 36, and it is not clear how they came to know each other.
He said Hafeez had had sexual activity with the teenager at Cliff Castle and St Ives.
Prosecutor Katherine Robinson said Hafeez was due to stand accused of two counts of rape but had pleaded guilty at trial to two counts of sexual activity with a child.
He had been arrested in 2016 and was standing trial in October 2021 with his co-defendants when he was severed from it due to him allegedly developing Covid-19.
The court heard the teenager had had a "troubled" childhood which included her parents splitting up and her brother's death.
She was drinking heavily and was meeting up with a range of boys and men.
She described sexual activity with a number of these men, often oral and often taking place outdoors or in remote locations.
She doesn't know how she met him [Hafeez] and refers to him as 'Jonny.' She says there are two different places he would drive her and would expect oral sex.
She doesn't suggest alcohol was used.
The court heard Hafeez - who is supported by his family - had suffered the loss of two of his brothers and struggles with his mental health.
Ms Turner said: "He has been subject to very stringent conditions.
He was arrested back in 2016 and has had to live with that for seven years or so.
He is managing his mental health issues." Judge Hatton handed Hafeez a sentence of two years suspended for two years.
He said the offences he had committed had taken place between April 2009 and March 2010 and said: "The victim was a young woman who had a difficult young life.
She had all of the associated difficulties of a woman growing into her teen years..."
