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| Britain |
| All the evidence that led to Mohammed Akram and Usman Khalid being found guilty of abusing Huddersfield grooming gang victim |
| 2019-05-22 |
| [ExaminerLive] Mohammed Akram, Usman Khalid, Shahnaz Malik and Naveeda Habib from Huddersfield were on trial at Leeds Crown Court. Two men have been convicted after a grooming victim was repeatedly raped by a man. Leeds Crown Court heard that the victim was groomed at the age of 11 and sexually abused by multiple men over the course several years, including Mohammed Akram and Usman Khalid. The first times Akram and Usman sexually abused her she was aged 12. Prosecutor Richard Wright QC said the victim was initially vulnerable because her mother was a drug addict and she was later taken into care. Her original abuser was takeaway worker Zahid Hassan, also known as Little Manny, of Bland Street, Lockwood, Huddersfield. Akram, also known as Kid, 33, of Springdale Street, Thornton Lodge, Huddersfield, denies five counts of rape, sexual assault, abducting a child and trafficking for sexual exploitation. Khalid, also known as Gujji, 31, of Brook Street, Lockwood, Huddersfield, denies sexual assault. On May 10, he was found not guilty of child abduction on the judge's direction. Akram and Khalid were both convicted yesterday (Monday). Shahnaz Malik, 57, of St Anne's Avenue, Ainley Top, Huddersfield, and Naveeda Habib, 40, of Prince Wood Lane, Birkby, Huddersfield, are both charged with child cruelty. The jury failed to reach a verdict on their charges. The two men will be sentenced on June 21. SUMMARY OF VICTIM'S ABUSE Now that the trial and legal discussions have concluded, it can be reported that this trial was the latest in West Yorkshire Police’s Operation Tendersea investigation. Throughout January to October last year, the investigation seen 20 men convicted and jailed for a total of 257 years. Mohammed Akram was one of those 20 men - he had been convicted of two counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation and two counts of rape in relation to two victims. He was just five months into his 17-year prison sentence when he returned to the dock for this trial. It was the third trial that this victim has given evidence in, on top of multiple police interviews over the years. |
| Posted by:Bright Pebbles |