The Old Bailey yesterday heard the terrifying story of two schoolgirls who were groomed and raped by an Aylesbury paedophile gang, when aged just 12 and 13.
Eleven members of the gang, who are accused of carrying out the crimes between 2006 and 2012 face 49 criminal charges between them including child rape, child prostitution and creating child pornography, reports The Mirror. The court heard how the two girls came from broken homes and were easily manipulated because the men gave them excitement, bought them gifts such as drugs, DVDs, and alcohol, and made them feel adult.
Girl ‘A’ said in a police statement: “You get passed round. It wasn’t particularly me looking for them. It was them looking for me. It’s just that they pass your number around. Or you’re with one of them and they invited three or four of their friends round and then you have to sleep with them.
“Because you’re in their place and they’re making your life a bit more exciting, so you do what they want. I just knew Asian men wanted to sleep with me. I didn’t think they found me attractive. I was happy that I was wanted. I felt popular. Like they wanted me and I got a load of attention, that was it.’
The market square in picturesque Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Girl ‘B’ said: “From aged 13 to 15 I was reckless. I was very vulnerable. I was easily led. I was out seeing men, getting drunk, running away, getting arrested. I wanted attention and I was looking in the wrong place”.
Over time the girls came to know the men as boyfriends, but that didn’t stop them passing the girls around their extended friendship circles. Girl ‘A’, who was approached while out in town with friends aged 12 then went on to be raped by 60 men, “almost all Asian”, over the course of just two years. Her situation only became apparent to authorities after she had given birth twice – but she was being raped by different men so frequently she does not know who the fathers are.
Prosecuting, Oliver Saxby QC said: “This case concerns child sexual exploitation on a massive scale. It features two young girls who were… sexually abused from the age of 12 or 13. Both girls were from unstable backgrounds, making perfect targets.
“Their lives were ‘off the rails’. They were looking for excitement, for attention, for somewhere to hang out away from school and home. They were wanting to feel grown up and looked after. And they were easy prey for a group of men wanting casual sexual gratification that was easy, regular and readily available.
“They were children, they spoke in terms of these men being their boyfriends. And they were passed from man to man – sometimes on a daily basis. The scale of it is, you may agree, horrifying. A estimated that she had sex with about 60 men”.
Saxby told the court Indian born ringleader Singh “had a smirk on his face” when the police questioned him about the sexual abuse, and his association with the other members of the gang. The others were described in court as knowing each other, and working as market traders and taxi drivers.
Another member, Asif Hussain, raped Girl ‘A’ in his home even as she wore her school uniform, and tried to sell her to men who resembled Osama Bin Laden, the girl told police. Those accused are predominantly ‘Asian’, and have been reported to be predominantly Muslim.
The charges the men face are:
Vikram Singh, 45, of Cannock Road, Aylesbury, is charged with four counts of rape, four counts of sexual activity with a child, and one of administering a substance with intent.
Harmohan Nangpal, 41, of Langdale Drive, Hayes, is accused of one count of rape, and one count of sexual activity with a child.
Asif Hussain, 33, of Hodge Lea, Milton Keynes, face three counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of arranging child prostitution.
Arshad Jani, 33, of Cousins Drive, Aylesbury, denies one count of rape, and a further count of sexual activity with a child.
Mohammed Imran, 38, of Springcliffe Street, Bradford, is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child, two counts of conspiracy to rape and one count of child prostitution.
Akbari Khan, 36, of Mandeville Road, Aylesbury, denies two counts of rape, one count of of sexual activity with a child, and one each of administering a substance with intent, conspiracy to rape, and conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child.
Taimoor Khan, 29, of Highbridge Road, Aylesbury, is charged with one count of rape, one count of sexual activity with a child, one count of conspiracy to rape, and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child.
Jerome Joe, 35, of Pightle Crescent, Buckingham, is charged with one count of rape and a single count of sexual activity with a child.
Sajad Ali, 34, of Brockhurst Road, Chesham, is charged with rape, sexual activity with a child and administering a substance.
Sohail Qamar, 41, of St Anne’s Road, Aylesbury, is accused of sexual activity with a child, two counts of rape, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Faisal Iqbal, 32, of Pixie Road, Aylesbury, is on trial accused of conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child.
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