Twenty people have been jailed for a total of 277 years in one of West Yorkshire Police’s largest child sex abuse investigations, which involved the grooming and rape of three vulnerable girls in Kirklees between 1995 and 2003.The abuse mainly took place in Dewsbury and Batley, with the victim, who was 12 at the time of the offenses, having been sexually assaulted by a number of men over a number of years.Proceedings at Leeds Crown Court took place over six separate trials between 2023 and 2024, with final judgments due in 2025.Reporting restrictions have so far prevented the release of case details.Serial rapist sentenced to 28 years in prisonOf those convicted, Sajid Majid, 53, from Millfield, was jailed for 28 years for five counts of rape and three of indecent assault, the longest sentence.Manaf Hussain, 51, from Heckmondwike, was jailed for 25 years for six counts of rape, while Tariq Azam, 57, from Dewsbury, was jailed for 24 years for five rapes and four indecent assaults.Aurrangzeb Azam, 56, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for 10 counts of rape and one count of indecent assault.Others sentenced include Shakeel Haq, 58, from Birmingham, who was jailed for 19 years for rape and false imprisonment; and Rafiq Patel, 73, from Batley, who was jailed for 18 years for two counts of rape.Police describe criminals as ‘ruthless predators’Kirklees District Police Chief Inspector Rob Stevens said the investigation revealed “truly shocking sexual abuse” committed by “a large number of sexual predators”.“For nearly two years, the jury heard shocking revelations about the horrific ways in which the victims were abused,” Stevens said.“They were repeatedly sexually assaulted, in some cases given Class A drugs and treated as commodities to satisfy ruthless predators.”He added that lengthy jail terms reflected the offender’s “degradation” and praised the victim’s courage to endure a lengthy trial and give evidence.Two men deemed unfit to stand trialTwo other men were found guilty of sex offences, but were ruled unfit to plead guilty, police said.Among the 20 people sentenced was Donna Lynn, 45, from Cleckheaton, who was jailed for three years for controlling prostitution.Ansar Mahmood Qayum, 49, from Dewsbury, was jailed for 10 years for rape and indecent assault. The sentence, combined with a previous 20-year sentence in another case, brings his total sentence to 30 years.
