Twenty jailed for sexual abuse of young girls

Twenty people have been jailed for the sexual abuse of three girls in West Yorkshire between 1995 and 2003.

The offences, which happened in Dewsbury and Batley, included rape and indecent assaults, and involved one victim who was just 12 years old when the abuse started.

West Yorkshire Police said the girls had been "treated as commodities for the gratification of heartless predators" and were repeatedly sexual assaulted and in some cases, given class A drugs.

Proceedings against the 19 men and one woman began at Leeds Crown Court in July 2023, with six separate trials taking place.

The last of those concluded in September 2024 and sentencing of the final suspect took place in 2025. Restrictions on reporting the sentences were removed in May and the BBC has since been checking the details with the courts.

The following sentences were handed out:

• Ansar Mahmood Qayum, 49, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 10 years for three offences of rape and two offences of indecent assault. The sentence was added to an existing 20-year sentence imposed on Qayum at court in a separate trial in another case in 2022, making a total sentence of 30 years.
• Sajid Majid, 53, from Mirfield , was sentenced to 28 years for five offences of rape and three offences of indecent assault.
• Manaf Hussain, 51, from Heckmondwike, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 136 months for six offences of rape and an offence of supplying Class A drugs.
• Tariq Azam, 57, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 24 years for five offences of rape and four offences of indecent assault.
• Zulfiqar Ali, 47, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 22 years and six months for four offences of rape.
• Aurrangzeb Azam, 56, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 20 years for ten offences of rape and an offence of indecent assault.
• Shakeel Haq, 58, from Birmingham, was sentenced to 19 years for three offences of rape and an offence of false imprisonment.
• Rafiq Patel, 73, from Batley, was sentenced to 18 years for two offences of rape.
• Zaheed Ali Nousarka, 58, from Batley, was sentenced to 18 years for two offences of rape.
• Mohammed Sheikh, 53, from Batley, was sentenced to 14 years for two offences of rape and two offences of indecent assault.
• Mohammed Yasin, 52, from Batley, was sentenced to 14 years for an offence of rape and two indecent assaults.
• Liaquat Hussain Hanif, 49, from Batley, was sentenced to 12 years and six months for two offences of rape and an offence of supplying Class A drugs.
• Ebrahim Mamaniat, 56, from Batley, was sentenced to 12 years for two offences of rape.
• Ibrahim Khalifa, 88, from Bradford, was sentenced to 11 years for two offences of rape.
• Shafiq Saddique, 57, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to 11 years for an offence of rape.
• Mohammed Munir Shaffi, 48, from Batley, was sentenced to nine years for two offences of rape.
• Mohammed Ishtiaq Hussain, 51, from Dewsbury, was sentenced to eight years for an offence of rape.
• Abbas Kaji, 57, from Batley, was sentenced to seven years for an offence of rape.
• Donna Lynn, 45, from Heckmondwike, was sentenced to three years for an offence of controlling prostitution.
• Tasawar Hussain, 46, from Heckmondwike, was sentenced to three years for an offence of rape.

Two other men were found by a court to have committed the acts they were charged with but were judged as unfit to enter pleas.

DCI Rob Stevens of Kirklees District Police said: "This has been a major investigation into truly appalling sexual abuse of vulnerable girls in Kirklees by a large number of sexual predators.

"Over an almost two-year period, juries have heard some shocking revelations about the dreadful way victims were abused by those involved.

"They were repeatedly sexually assaulted, in some cases given Class A drugs, and very much treated as commodities for the gratification of heartless predators.

"The very significant jailed terms given to some of these men, such as the 28-year sentence for Sajid Majid or the 20-year sentence handed to Aurrangzeb Azam who was found guilty of 10 separate rapes, speak volumes about their depravity and the abuse meted out to victims in this case."

He added the offending had come to light due to the courage of the victims coming forward.

"These women showed enormous bravery in giving evidence in lengthy trials and I hope they can feel a sense of pride in the determination they have displayed to see justice done, and in seeing people who have no place in society being put behind bars," Stevens said.

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