Rochdale schoolgirls treated like ‘sex slaves’ by alleged grooming gang abusers, court told

Six defendants are facing sex abuse charges relating to the two women when they were girls in Rochdale, plus further allegations against one other complainant, known as Girl B. They deny all charges.

Tahir Rashid, called the “undoubted ringleader” of the group by the prosecution, was described as a “flashy man” in the afternoon session.

The court heard that he claimed to have two diamond-encrusted rings in his bedroom, which he said were worth £50,000 each, and that he boasted of owning several luxury cars.

The prosecutor said Rashid was aware of the ages of Girl A and Girl C because he often picked them up when they were in their school uniforms.

He said: “Mr Rashid did not care that they were underage. It was what he liked.”

The court heard that Girl A knew Rashid through Mohammed Saleem, with the pair described as “close friends”.

Girl A was said to be treated like a “sex object” at a party that she was allegedly called to by Rashid, and prosectors claim that two other “Scottish men” had sex with her there.

“They had bought alcohol, she was told to go upstairs to the back bedroom, and Mr Rashid went with her. There was another girl downstairs that the men did not want Girl A to see, and they did not want that girl to see Girl A either.”

The court heard that the next day, Saleem, known as ‘Wolf’, and another man allegedly went to Girl A's home, where her mother lived and claimed that the rings had gone missing.

The prosecutor said: “At the same time, Mr Rashid was on the phone to Girl A, threatening to snap her fingers and put her in a grave for stealing the rings. She had done no such thing but suspected that it might have been one of the Scottish men who had been at the house. It transpired that she was right, and later Mr Rashid called her to apologise.

“After the accusation made about stealing the rings, Mr Rashid apologised again and asked to make it up to Girl A, so she agreed to meet up with him, but she took with her a friend.”

“That day, the saga about the rings was to rear its head again. Mr Rashid asked the friend to close her eyes and he took Girl A to the corner of the room, lifted up the carpet and showed her a blood stain underneath, he then made the claim that he had kneecapped the Scottish man who had stolen the ring.

“The boast scared her, unsurprisingly. It was untrue, he had done no such thing, but that he made the boast is the important thing.”

The prosecutor claimed that, years later, the same blood stain was discovered by the police.

The prosecutor then alleged that Saleem used the same house as Rashid for the purpose of sexual abuse.

“He was aware that Girl A was having regular sex with Mr Rashid, but that deterred him not a bit. They were part of the same group of men abusing children.”

He claimed that the girl was “passed around for sex, day after day”.

Mr Scamardella KC added: “Her phone number had been passed around hundreds of men … remarkably, she described to the police how she might be on the phone to one man who wanted sex, while three others would be on hold.”

The jury was then told about allegations against Sucklane Shah, nicknamed ‘Sucky’.

The married man allegedly first met Girl C when she was 14, and the court heard that they had vaginal sex between 10 and 15 times, it was alleged.

Detailing allegations against Arshad Mohammed, nicknamed “Ash”, Rossano Scamardella KC said he raped both Girl A and Girl C, who he is alleged to have paid for sex.

“Girl C’s reporting of her abuse by him is of note. She told police that she had sex for money with a man called Ash and that he had a shop,” said the prosecutor.

Mr Scamardella alleged that he claimed that he worked for a modelling agency and that he could make Girl A famous.

The prosecutor said: “He did not work for an agency, it was a lie to persuade her to pose naked for photographs and to agree to have sex with him.

“It was cruel but typical of the lengths these men would go to satisfy their desires to have sex with schoolgirls.”

Jurors were told of allegations that Iftaq Hussain, nicknamed ‘Itty’, abused Girl A and another girl at a warehouse.

“She was 13 or 14 at the time, and he knew that. He knew that and did not care. Sex with schoolgirls was his thing, and her age mattered not,” alleged the prosecutor.

Turning to Amjad Mahmood, Mr Scamardella said that Girl A was plied by him with vodka and that he also abused Girl C.

"He was aware that what he was doing was wrong because he went to considerable lengths to keep Girl A from being seen by people in the area.

“He would pick her up in his car and take her to a flat and she would be asked to wait in the car.”

The prosecutor alleged that Mahmood treated his victim horribly, describing him as “a violent rapist,” adding that he “treated schoolgirls like sex slaves”.

Mahmood, the KC said, was a “a sexual bully and a violent bully” because he allegedly punched Girl A in the face after she refused to have sex with another man.

Tahir Rashid, 54, faces 12 counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault, and one count of assault by penetration.

Mohammed Saleem, 46, faces eight counts of rape.

Sucklane Shah, 46, faces two counts of rape.

Arshad Mohammed, 53, faces five counts of rape.

Itfaq Hussain, 45, faces three counts of rape.

Amjad Mahmood, 55, faces 12 counts of rape, two counts of indecency with a child, one count of indecent assault, two counts of assault by penetration.

The men deny all charges.

#The trial continues.

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