Jury considers its verdict in child-sex trial

A JURY has retired to consider its verdicts in the trial of 11 men from Greater Manchester accused of being part of a child sexual exploitation ring.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that five girls were “shared” by Kabeer Hassan, Abdul Aziz, Abdul Rauf, Mohammed Sajid, Adil Khan, Abdul Qayyum, Mohammed Amin, Qamar Shahzad, Liaquat Shah, Hamid Safi and a 59–year–old man who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The nine–week trial heard that the men — who are all from Pakistan, apart from Safi who is from Afghanistan — groomed the vulnerable teenage girls.

The jury of three men and nine women was told the men, who live in the Oldham and Rochdale areas, gave the girls, some as young as 13, with food, drink and drugs so they could “pass them around” and use them for sex.

The trial heard that one 13–year–old victim fell pregnant to one of the defendants and had the child aborted.

Another teenager recalled being raped by two men while she was “so drunk she was vomiting over the side of the bed”.

The court heard that some of the girls were raped and physically assaulted and some were forced to have sex with “several men in a day, several times a week.”

The men all deny conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children under the age of 16.

The jury were sent home for the night and will return to continue their deliberations today.