Twenty men have been jailed for raping and abusing four girls in Calderdale, West Yorkshire Police has said.
The men have been sentenced to a combined total of 219 years in prison in relation to sexual abuse carried out between 2001 and 2010, against four girls aged 12 to 16.
The abuse was uncovered in a series of trials and extensive police investigations into allegations first received back in 2016.
West Yorkshire Police said it announced the convictions on Wednesday after court restrictions put in place to safeguard legal proceedings were lifted, allowing them to share the details of three investigations where trials have now concluded.
Detective chief inspector Claire Smith said: “Firstly, I want to acknowledge the sheer courage of the victims and survivors in each of these investigations – not only for having the bravery to come forward initially but also for enduring the criminal justice system and the weight of criminal trials and reporting restrictions in place.
“Due to legal restrictions, it has not been possible to publicise these outcomes until now. I welcome the sentences handed to these offenders for the abhorrent abuse these young girls were subjected to, which was heard by the jurors in each trial over the last few years.
“Tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse is a top priority for West Yorkshire Police and our partners. This is an abhorrent crime which has a lifelong impact on victims and survivors.”
The first investigation was launched in 2016 in relation to the sexual abuse and exploitation of two girls aged between 13 and 16, which took place in Calderdale between 2006 and 2009.
Nine men from Halifax were jailed over the course of two trials at Bradford Crown Court.
In the first trial, which commenced in October 2021, Shahzad Nowaz, aged 45, and Nadeem Nassir, 44 were found guilty of rape and making threats to kill. Both were sentenced to 11 years.
Sajid Adalat, 48, and Shazad Nazir, 49 were sentenced to seven and 11 years respectively after being convicted of rape. Sohail Zaffer, 41, pled guilty to rape and supply of a class C drug, and was sentenced to 42 months.
Following a second trial commencing in January 2022, Nadeem Adalat, 39, Asad Mahmood, 38, Mohammed Rizwan Iqbal, 39, and Vaseem Adalat, 38, were all found guilty of rape. The former and latter both appealed their sentences, which were increased respectively to 14 years and 14 years and 6 months.
The second investigation was also launched in 2016 after reports of a vulnerable girl being repeatedly abused between 2002 and 2006, starting when she was 13 years old.
In an initial trial at Bradford Crown Court, Amir Shaban, 48, of Halifax, was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 10 years.
A second trial starting in October 2022 saw six men from Halifax – Malik Quadeer, 67, Mohammed Ziarab, 55, Imran Raja Yasin, 45, Kamran Amin, 48, Mohammed Akhtar, 54, and Saquab Hussain, 46 – all jailed for rape. Quadeer was found guilty of five counts of rape and sentenced to 22 years.
A third trial which opened in January saw three men each convicted on two counts of rape. Haroon Sadiq, 40, of Halifax, was sentenced to 10 years, while Shafiq Ali Rafiq, 44, of Dewsbury, was given 12 years, and Sarfraz Rabnawaz, 39, of Bradford, was sentenced to 9 years.
The third investigation was launched in 2018 into a 12-year-old girl sexually abused between 2001 and 2002.
Craig Mitchell, 55 of Halifax, was found guilty of rape at a trial in December, and was sentenced to 12 years.
DCI Smith added: “I hope highlighting the prosecution of these offenders will serve as a reminder that we will continue to do all we can to put perpetrators behind bars and protect victims and survivors.
“It’s never too late to report child sexual abuse. I encourage anyone who was abused as a child to speak to someone and seek support. Reports of non-recent abuse are handled by officers who are specially trained in supporting victims and survivors and dealing with such sensitive cases.”
The latest prosecutions come after 15 men were jailed in 2016 for child sex offences in what police said at the time had been their largest investigation into grooming gangs in Calderdale.
The following year, victims and investigators warned that grooming gangs across the country were repeating the organised abuse previously exposed in Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and Newcastle.
Operation Sanctuary, which investigated grooming gangs operating in Northumberland and Tyne and Weir had identified more than 700 potential victims as of August 2017.
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673).
