Sex-trial jury still out

A JURY will today continue its deliberations in the trial of 11 men from Greater Manchester accused of being part of a child sexual exploitation ring.

They retired to consider verdicts on Tuesday morning and spent yesterday considering the case.

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 10–week trial was told that the men groomed the teenage girls because they were vulnerable.

The men, all from the Oldham and Rochdale areas, all deny conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children under the age of 16.