Locations
Persehouse Street, Walsall, WS1
Description
Four men have been convicted of exploiting, sexually assaulting, and raping a vulnerable 16-year-old runaway girl after picking her up in Birmingham in July 2019.
The victim entered Arqash Zaffar's BMW on Alum Rock Road. She alleged Zaffar raped her multiple times over the following days, including in a Walsall hotel room where men took turns abusing her.
Mohammed Nadim, also in the car, groped her in the back. Shahban Arif arranged her hotel stay in Walsall. Shiraz Nassar raped her in his Manchester flat after Zaffar drove her there overnight.
After a five-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court, the jury found:
- Zaffar, 41, of Persehouse Street, Walsall: guilty of five counts of rape, four of causing penetrative sexual activity without consent, and one of arranging travel for exploitation.
- Nadim, 45, of Wednesbury Road, Walsall: guilty of one sexual assault.
- Arif, 42, of Holden Crescent, Walsall: guilty of one exploitation offense.
- Nassar, 40, of Fir Road, Denton, Manchester: guilty of one rape.
Sentencing is adjourned to March 19, 2026.
Prosecutor Tim Clark KC opened: "She was a vulnerable teenager - she was known to social services. She had been reported missing from her home on a number of occasions. One of those occasions when she had gone missing was between July 11 and August 12, 2019. The Crown's case is she spent some of that time in the company of these four men. It's the Crown's case three of these defendants, Zaffar, Nadim and Nassar, either sexually exploited her themselves or were present when she was sexually assaulted. Zaffar and Arif were involved in her exploitation sexually by others."
The girl, described as "extremely upset," disclosed the abuse to her social worker after returning home on August 12, 2019. She identified Zaffar as "Mikey," Nadim as "Dimma," Nassar as "Soldier," and Arif by his "rat-like face" (nicknamed "rat" at trial). She admitted claiming to be 19.
On July 20, she was driven to a dead end, asked to kiss both men (who exposed themselves), then to a car park where Nadim assaulted her and Zaffar forced oral sex. Later, with Arif ("small, proper skinny guy") in the car, she was taken to Manchester and raped by Zaffar and Nassar.
She claimed Zaffar raped her in a Walsall hotel before a "baby-faced" man called "Young Boy," and in another room boasted she was "sexually available," raping her before others took turns.
Her ordeal ended when dropped off near Selfridges in Birmingham. All defendants admitted being with her but denied the offenses.