Grooming gang sentenced to nearly 350 years for rape of eight young girls
A gang of sexual predators who committed horrific acts of abuse against at least eight young girls over the course of a decade have finally been jailed.
Roughly 24 members of the group, who operated in the North Kirklees area of West Yorkshire between 1999 and 2012, have received jail time totalling nearly 346 years.
Their arrests came about as the result of West Yorkshire Police’s Operation Tourway, which uncovered evidence of the rape, sexual abuse and trafficking of the group’s underage victims.
The prosecution was spread over a series of five trials that lasted two years, with reporting restrictions lifted on Friday after the last seven men were sentenced by Leeds Crown Court, MailOnline reports.
Police made their first arrests in November 2018, with all members of the gang officially charged by December 2020 and the first sentences being handed down in 2022.
Detective Chief Inspector Oliver Coates praised the gang’s victims for having come forward with evidence of the crimes they were subjected to when they were younger.
He said: ‘Their bravery in coming forwards and identifying their abusers has allowed us to take action against men whose offending and behaviour can only be described as abhorrent in the extreme.
‘Now that reporting restrictions have been lifted we can, for the first time, disclose full details of all those sentenced so far in what has been a long trial process.’
He added: ‘’Throughout the last two years juries have heard details of absolutely shocking offending committed against victims in these cases.
‘Some of these men received in excess of 30 years each for the multiple offences they committed and the unbelievably callous and degrading way in which they treated these then young girls.
‘Men such Asif Ali, who alone was found guilty of 14 rape offences, committed appalling sexual abuse on a scale which can barely be believed, and saw their young victims as defenceless commodities to be abused and traded at whim.’
He went on: ‘Far from being powerless however, those young women have instead fought back as adults and forced them to account for their crimes.
‘They displayed real courage and determination in giving evidence through what have been lengthy trials and supporting our investigations.
‘I hope they can find some closure and satisfaction in knowing they have enabled police and partners to mount a huge and highly difficult investigation which has taken sexual predators off our streets for years to come.’
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