22/06/2012

Rochdale Paedophile Ringleader Named

The ringleader of a paedophile gang in Rochdale, who groomed young white girls for sex, has been named after being found guilty of 30 separate child rape charges.

Shabir Ahmed, 59, led a child sex exploitation ring of nine men who targeted vulnerable young girls in the Rochdale and Oldham areas of Greater Manchester.

He was jailed for 19 years last month following an 11-week trial at Liverpool crown court. But Ahmed, who was known to his victims by the nickname "Daddy", could not be named at the time as he was awaiting trial on separate child rape charges.

On Thursday a jury at Manchester crown court convicted him of 30 charges of rape, and Judge Mushtaq Khokhar lifted reporting restrictions, which means he can be identified for the first time.

The court heard that he raped and sexually abused a young Asian girl over many years and that he treated her as a "possession", using her for his own sexual gratification.

Ahmed, a former takeaway driver, smirked as the jury returned the unanimous verdicts.

At the close of the Liverpool trial, Clifton dismissed the gang's claims that there was no "racial or cultural" element to their crimes.

He said "one of the factors" leading to their abuse of their victims "was the fact that they were not part of your community or religion".

The judge said some of the men claimed their arrest "was triggered by race".

But, he added: "That is nonsense. What triggered this prosecution was your lust and greed."

Judge Khokhar adjourned sentencing until 2 August.

Ahmed has been banned from the court in Liverpool for his sentencing hearing because of his threatening behaviour and for calling Clifton a "racist bastard". The judge called the defendant an "unpleasant and hypocritical bully".

(H)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

02 April 2008
Eight Terror Suspects To Stand Trial
Eight men accused of conspiring to blow up transatlantic airliners with liquid explosives are to stand trial. Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar, Tanvir Hussain, Mohammed Guizar, Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Waheed Khan, Waheed Zaman and Umar Islam are charged with conspiracy to murder.
22 February 2013
Witness Tells Trafficking Trial Of Rape And Branding
The Old Bailey has heard how a man raped and branded a woman with his initial when she was 12-years-old, before turning her into a sex slave. The woman, now 19, was giving evidence at the trial of nine men accused of grooming children and exploiting them for sex in Oxford.
19 September 2007
Man In Court On Terror Charges
A man has appeared in court in London charged with terrorism offences. Raingzieb Ahmed, 32, from Fallowfield in Manchester, was arrested at Heathrow Airport after arriving on a flight from Pakistan on September 10.
05 June 2012
Brothers Jailed For Role In Drugs Supply
Two brothers have been jailed for over eight and a half years after pleading guilty to importing and supplying more than a tonne of cutting agents for use in the supply of cocaine. Saleh Ahmed, 29, of Herbert House, Old Castle Street, Whitechapel E1, changed his not guilty plea after a week of evidence at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
04 April 2008
Bomb Plot Accused Made 'Martyrdom Videos'
Several men accused of plotting to blow up passenger planes during transatlantic flights filmed Islamic martyrdom videos. The jury at Woolwich Crown Court were shown footage and read transcripts from some of the videos recorded by the suspects.