Three men found guilty of raping teenage girls

The victims were aged 13 to 15 and 14 to 16 when they were abused in Rotherham

Three men have been found guilty of raping teenage girls in Rotherham more than two decades ago.

Kessur Ajaib, 43, Sageer Hussain, 39, and Mohammed Makhmood, 43, abused their victims in "the most horrendous way" between 1999 and 2002, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Their trial at Sheffield Crown Court was told how one girl was raped on separate occasions by Ajaib and Makhmood while Husain trapped another girl against her will and told her she would not be able to leave unless they had sex.

Hussain will be sentenced on 7 November while Ajaib and Makhmood will be sentenced on 21 November.

The victims were aged 13 to 15 and 14 to 16 when the offending took place.

The court was told that after Makhmood raped the girl, he called her demeaning names and spat and laughed at her.

Liz Fell, specialist prosecutor for the CPS Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, said the men "exploited the victims' youth and vulnerability to manipulate and control them".

She added: "They sexually abused the victims, who were children, in the most horrendous way.

"The treatment these young girls endured was appalling - they were attacked in isolated locations and subjected to humiliation and verbal abuse."

Both Makhmood and Hussain were found guilty of rape while Ajab was found guilty of rape and indecent assault.

The trio were charged following an investigation by the National Crime Agency as part of Operation Stovewood - a major inquiry into child sexual abuse and exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

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