UK child abuse horror: 20 convicted for grooming and raping girls over eight years

20 people have been sentenced to a combined 277 years in prison in one of West Yorkshire Police’s biggest child sexual abuse investigations, involving the grooming and rape of three vulnerable girls in Kirklees between 1995 and 2003.The abuse took place largely in Dewsbury and Batley, where the victims, one as young as 12 when the offending began, were repeatedly sexually assaulted by multiple men over several years.Proceedings at Leeds Crown Court stretched across six separate trials between 2023 and 2024, with the final sentencing completed in 2025.Reporting restrictions had prevented publication of the case details until now.Longest sentence of 28 years handed to serial rapistAmong those convicted, Sajid Majid, 53, from Mirfield, received the longest sentence — 28 years in prison for five counts of rape and three counts of indecent assault.Manaf Hussain, 51, from Heckmondwike, was jailed for 25 years for six rape offences, while Tariq Azam, 57, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 24 years for five rapes and four indecent assaults.Aurrangzeb Azam, 56, from Dewsbury, received a 20-year sentence after being convicted of ten counts of rape and one count of indecent assault.Others sentenced included Shakeel Haq, 58, from Birmingham, who was jailed for 19 years for rape and false imprisonment, and Rafiq Patel, 73, from Batley, who was handed 18 years for two rape offences.Police describe offenders as ‘heartless predators’Detective Chief Inspector Rob Stevens of Kirklees District Police described the investigation as exposing “truly appalling sexual abuse” carried out by “a large number of sexual predators”.“Over an almost two-year period, juries have heard shocking revelations about the dreadful way victims were abused,” Stevens said.“They were repeatedly sexually assaulted, in some cases given Class A drugs, and very much treated as commodities for the gratification of heartless predators.”He added that the lengthy jail terms reflected the “depravity” of the offenders and praised the victims for their courage in enduring lengthy trials and giving evidence.Two men deemed unfit to stand trialPolice said two additional men were found by the court to have committed sexual offences but were ruled unfit to enter pleas.Among the 20 sentenced was Donna Lynn, 45, from Cleckheaton, who received three years in prison for controlling prostitution.Ansar Mahmood Qayum, 49, from Dewsbury, was jailed for 10 years for rape and indecent assault offences. The sentence was added to an earlier 20-year jail term imposed in a separate case, taking his total sentence to 30 years.