Tahir Rashid, 54, Mohammed Saleem, 46, Sucklane Shah, 46, Amjad Mahmood, 53, Itfaq Hussain, 45, and Arshad Mohammed, 55, all deny the offences they are accused of
Minshull Street Crown Court(Image: Getty Images)
Six men are alleged to have historically sexually abused three girls in Rochdale in the ‘most humiliating and degrading way imaginable’, a trial has heard.
The allegations made by one girl are said to have happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while claims made by two other girls are alleged to have occurred in the mid 2000s.
Tahir Rashid, 54, Mohammed Saleem, 46, Sucklane Shah, 46, Amjad Mahmood, 53, Itfaq Hussain, 45, and Arshad Mohammed, 55, all deny the offences they are accused of.
The complainants are referred to as Girl A, Girl B and Girl C for legal reasons.
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Prosecutor, Rossano Scamardella KC, told jurors Girl B was abused from the age of 12, and Girl A and Girl C from the age of twelve or thirteen.
“Two of the girls, Girl A and Girl C were friends and both led troubled lives. They were very vulnerable children with chaotic home lives and were easy prey for men with an unhealthy interest in having sex with children,” said the prosecutor.
“They had deeply troubled home lives and were known to the authorities, their school attendance was poor and they were often missing from home. They were abused at similar times, from 2005 onwards by Tahir Rashid, the first defendant, and others who sit with him in the dock.”
Mr Scamardella KC continued: “Girl B was also sexually abused by Tahir Rashid, the undoubted ringleader in this group, but her abuse happened in the late 1980s and she did not know either of the other victims then, nor does she know them now.”
Jurors heard that Mr Rashid, described as a ‘flashy man’, is alleged to have forced himself on her on numerous occasions, ‘not caring about pregnancy’. He is also alleged to have given her a sexually transmitted disease, the court heard.
Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester city centre(Image: MEN Media)
Speaking about the other two complainants, the prosecutor said: “Their experiences at the hands of these predatory men was also appalling. They were children passed around for sex; abused, degraded and then discarded and that it was the two of them that were exploited in this way, was not by chance.”
“The defendants were only too aware of their tender ages and the difficulties they were experiencing with day-to-day life. It was obvious that they craved the attention that their home lives and families did not provide, which made them easy for older men to exploit.”
Mr Scamardella KC said the men ‘preyed upon those vulnerabilities for their own perverted sexual gratification in the most humiliating and degrading way imaginable’
He continued: “It began by making the girls feel like grown-ups; given alcohol, cigarettes, places to stay and people to be with.”
“But that was to quickly change, and drastically so. The girls were expected to have sex with these men and others, whenever and wherever the men wanted.
“They were often forced to have oral sex and vaginal sex with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and houses. On other occasions they would be required to have sex in cars, car parks, alleyways or disused warehouses. Wherever and whenever these men wanted it.”
“Unprotected sex was routine. The girls were lied to about it being forbidden for Muslim men to use protection so the men would often ejaculate in their mouths or inside them. These men cared not a bit about sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies,” said Mr Scamardella KC.
“Both girls would be expected to answer calls at all times of the day and night from the men that wanted to have sex with them. Girl A told the police as part of the investigation, that often she would be on the phone to one man whilst more than one other would be on-hold. They became sex slaves.
“Despite being known to social services and other agencies, some of whom were aware that the girls were having sex with older, Asian men, neither girl complained to police at the time and no action was taken to prevent further incidents.”
Mr Rashid was alleged to have ‘used his physical prowess’ to overpower Girl B and ‘force her to have sex with him. He is also alleged to have given her money, taken her to places such as Alton Towers and bought her clothes.
He was also alleged to have raped Girl A and Girl C.
Mr Saleem, also known as ‘Wolf’, was alleged to have ‘groomed and raped’ Girl A. In total, it was said that he had sex with her ‘about 30 times’.
Sucklane Shah, also known as ‘Sucky’ was alleged to have had sex with Girl C in his car, with her believing they were ‘in some sort of relationship’ together.
The court heard that Arshad Mohammed is alleged to have paid Girl C to have sex with him. It is also alleged that he told Girl A that he worked for a modelling agency and persuaded her to pose naked for photographs before having sex with her, jurors heard.
Iftaq Hussain was alleged to have raped Girl A at a warehouse where his friend worked, with prosecutors stating he would ply her and her friend with alcohol.
Amjad Mahmood is alleged to have picked up Girl A in his car, giving her vodka and asked her to perform oral sex upon him before allegedly raping her on numerous occasions. He is also alleged to have arranged for her to have sex with another man for money. Mr Mahmood is charged with an offence of rape in relation to Girl C.
Mr Rashid, of Hudsons Walk, Rochdale, denies 12 counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault and one count of assault by penetration.
Mr Saleem, of Shaw Road, Littleborough, denies eight counts of rape. Mr Shah, of Milnrow Road, Rochdale, denies two counts of rape.
Mr Mohammed, of Merefield Street, Rochdale, denies four counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration.
Mr Hussain, of Hey Street, Rochdale, denies three counts of rape.
Mr Mahmood, of Channing Street, Rochdale, denies 11 counts of rape, two counts of indecency with a child, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of indecent assault.
The trial continues.