Leeds men convicted for targeting vulnerable teen
Four men from Leeds have been jailed for a total of 51 years after a ‘shocking catalogue of child sexual exploitation’ was uncovered.
A jury at Leeds Crown Court were told earlier this month how a group of up to ten men had systematically groomed a 13-year-old victim by plying her with ‘cigarettes, alcohol and drugs’.
Sentencing the four Leeds men, Judge Geoffrey Marson, QC said none of the defendants had shown any type of remorse for their actions during the six week trial.
31-year-old Tariq Islam, of Cross Quarry Street, Woodhouse, was jailed for 13 years after being convicted of two offences of rape, whilst Zafar Iqbal, 41, of Latchmere Drive, Horsforth, was handed a 15 year sentence for one offence of attempted rape and two of sexual activity with a child.
Meanwhile, Nasir Sultan, 24, and Amir Zaman, 25, both of Beeston, were jailed for 12 years and 11 years respectively.
Sultan, of Beeston Road, was convicted for two offences of rape whilst Zaman, of Sefton Terrace, was found guilty of four offences of sexual activity with a child.
Andrew Penhale, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS Yorkshire and Humberside said there was a severe ‘breaching of trust’ from all the men convicted.
“Ten individuals have been convicted of offences which involve a shocking catalogue of child sexual exploitation,” he said. “The victim was targeted by older men precisely because of her youth and vulnerability.
“The offences involved an appalling breach of trust – the victim was groomed and plied with cigarettes, alcohol and drugs to make her compliant.
“The defendants then showed a complete lack of remorse for their actions, with ten of them claiming throughout the contested trial that the allegations were fabricated, or that they believed the victim to be over 16.”
He added: “The victim of these terrible crimes has shown immense courage, not only to make a complaint initially but to then give evidence in a long and complicated trial. The prosecution of these men could not have succeeded without her evidence. We hope that the sentences handed down today will help her to begin to rebuild her life.”
