A man has been found guilty of grooming and raping two young girls in Rotherham in the early 2000s.
Obaidullah Omari, 46, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court for targeting the two, who were aged between 13 and 14 at the time of their abuse.
Officers from the National Crime Agency's Operation Stovewood investigated the offences, which occurred between 2003 and 2004.
Operation Stovewood is looking into child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
Omari gave the young girls alcohol and drugs before abusing them.
The jury found Omari raped the first girl multiple times at two different locations - in his car and house in Eastwood.
They also found him guilty of raping the second girl on one occasion.
Both victims came forward to Operation Stovewood, over 20 years after the abuse took place, providing their accounts to officers who then arrested Omari in 2019.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Omari was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court
|WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
During a two-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court, Omari was found guilty of three counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault.
He will be sentenced tomorrow, September 4.
The National Crime Agency's senior investigating officer Alan Hastings praised the "bravery" of the two women to come forward.
He said: "What they have been through is unimaginable, yet they were still able to tell us their stories and give evidence.
"Without that, we would not have been able to get these convictions.
"Working with partners across Rotherham and South Yorkshire, Operation Stovewood continues to support victims and pursue perpetrators."
To date, 48 people, including Omari, have been convicted through Operation Stovewood.
The operation continues and remains the single biggest investigation of its kind, looking at allegations of abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
Jess Phillips announced yesterday that police forces have identified 1,273 closed cases of grooming abuse
| GB NEWSYesterday, Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips announced that 1,273 closed cases of grooming abuse have been identified by police forces for formal review since January, with 216 cases being "accelerated as a matter of urgency".
In a statement to the Commons, Ms Phillips confirmed that the Government was closing in on the launch of the national inquiry into the abuse gangs scandal.
She said: "The chair must have credibility and experience to command the confidence of victims and survivors as well as the wider public. And meaningful engagement with victims and survivors is paramount.
"To support this, a dedicated panel of victims and survivors has been established, which will contribute to that chair selection process.
"This is a critical milestone, and once an appointment is confirmed, the House will be updated at the earliest opportunity."