Locations
Manchester Road, Bury, BL9 & Ainsworth Road, Radcliffe, Manchester, Bury, M26
Description
Two cousins have been found guilty of grooming and raping five teenage girls in an 'appalling' case of historic abuse from the late 1990s.
Manzorr Hussain, 54, and Imtiaz Ali, 53, abused the victimsoften from troubled backgroundsafter providing them with drink and drugs. The crimes occurred mainly in Bury, but also across Greater Manchester and in Wales, including in houses, hotels, cars, and vans.
Following a four-week trial at Minshull Street Crown Court, the pair were convicted and will be sentenced in December.
A third man, Hussain's brother Ghulam Hussain, 64, was charged with multiple sexual offences but fled the country; jurors were told not to decide his guilt.
Prosecutor Anna Pope opened the case: "It is a case about five teenage girls, who we say were groomed and sexually abused by three men. We say this took place in the late 1990s.
"We say that these sexual offences took place in houses, a hotel, sometimes in a car or a van. A number of the girls, we say, were particularly vulnerable.
"They had troubled backgrounds. The prosecution says that older men took advantage of their personal situations and groomed them with drink, drugs, lifts in a car and a place to spend time, as well as company.
"In reality, we say that this was part of a grooming process and the girls were made to feel like in return they owed something to these men. When sexual activity began and took place between these young teenage girls and much older men, we say that they weren't truly consenting to any of this."
Ms Pope described Ghulam Hussain as the 'main man' who abused girls and 'passed them around' to others, including his brother and cousin. The trio ran market stalls. 'Parties' at an address linked to Ali involved drugs, alcohol, and expected sexual services. One victim, raped by both men, was threatened with being left on the moors without clothes.
Prosecutors said Hussain took one victim to a flat with a dirty mattress, where she was abused by strangers sequentially. The case began when one victim reported her ordeal, leading police to contact the others.
Hussain, of Manchester Road, Bury, was convicted of seven counts of rape and seven counts of indecent assault. Ali, of Ainsworth Road, Radcliffe, Bury, was found guilty of five counts of rape, five counts of indecent assault, and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Claire Brinton, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said:
"Manzorr Hussain and Imtiaz Ali exploited five vulnerable teenage girls, grooming them with alcohol and drugs before subjecting them to appalling sexual abuse.
The defendants deliberately targeted children they knew they could exploit and treated them as objects to be passed around for their own and others sexual gratification. They showed a callous disregard for the girls welfare and used manipulation, force, threats and fear to control them and make them comply with their sick demands.
"These women have demonstrated remarkable bravery in coming forward, remaining engaged with the legal process, and reliving deeply traumatic experiences from over two decades ago. I would like to thank all of them; I hope these convictions can bring them some comfort.
"Our Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, in collaboration with Greater Manchester Police, was able to use extensive evidence to build a comprehensive picture of the offending to present to a jury who found the defendants guilty and delivered the justice these women deserved.