CALDERDALE GANG JAILED FOR GROOMING AND ABUSING GIRLS
Fifteen men involved in a systematic grooming and sexual abuse network targeting teenage girls in Halifax have been sentenced to incarceration.The defendants were convicted on child sex charges, including rape, grooming, and trafficking, following three separate trials at Leeds Crown Court.
The prosecutors highlighted the significant bravery of the two victims who testified against the offenders.
The maximum sentence handed down was 25 years, as part of what was described as a "complex and lengthy operation." Between 2009 and 2011, these men sexually exploited young girls in Halifax and Bradford, as stated by the Crown Prosecution Service.
One additional girl was sexually assaulted by a gang member.
Peter Mann, head of the complex casework unit at the CPS for Yorkshire and Humberside, commented: "These individuals are responsible for multiple crimes involving child exploitation and abuse." He added: "One victim was assaulted inside a vehicle." "Another girl was groomed and exploited in a systematic manner by older men she associated with.
Some of her abusers worked together, grooming her and offering her alcohol and drugs, while others attacked her individually." According to West Yorkshire Police, the abuse was first reported in 2012 by the then 15-year-old victim living in Halifax.
Another girl subsequently provided evidence against a different gang member.
About the victim The main victim was just 13 years old when her abuse started.
She came from a troubled family background, marked by drug and alcohol addiction during the period of her abuse, which ended in 2011.
She was later placed in social care.
Now aged 21 and a mother, she is living a new life away from Calderdale.
Officials stated that this investigation was the "largest and longest-running into child sexual exploitation in Calderdale." Police conducted nearly 60 hours of interviews with two victims, analyzed 1,848 statements, examined 2,963 exhibits, and processed over 20,000 disclosure items," police said.
A total of 25 men faced charges; during the trials, four defendants were cleared by the jury, and three were acquitted on the judge’s orders.
Mr.
Mann praised the girls’ bravery in reporting the crimes and providing evidence.
One of those sentenced is Taukeer Butt, 31, of Halifax, who was sentenced to 10 years after being found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a minor.
