Rapist sentenced for attack on teen 20 years ago

Aftab Hussain, who is already in prison, was give an eight-year jail term

A man already serving a prison sentence for sex crimes against children has been convicted of raping a teenager.

Aftab Hussain, 45, pleaded guilty at Sheffield Crown Court to raping a 15-year-old girl in Rotherham 20 years ago.

Hussain was jailed for 24 years in 2019 for twice raping a girl and indecently assaulting another following an investigation into historic sexual abuse in Rotherham as part of Operation Stovewood.

He was handed a further eight-year sentence on Wednesday which will run alongside his current jail term.

The new allegations came to light when a woman told the National Crime Agency (NCA) Hussain had raped her between 8 July 2004 and 21 March 2005.

She recounted how Hussain, having spotted her sitting alone in a park, harassed her and repeatedly asking her to follow him into a secluded area.

The woman, who was 15 at the time, recognised him as someone who had been violent towards a friend. When she refused to go with him, he said he was “gonna have her”, the NCA said.

Hussain then grabbed her and raped her by a canal, before leaving her alone by the water, the agency added.

'Enormous courage'

“The NCA has ensured that the women Hussain raped and assaulted when they were children have had their stories of horrific abuse heard in court," NCA lead investigating officer, Mitch Leach, said.

“Hussain’s victims have shown enormous courage by recounting what he did to them, and now another woman who bravely spoke out after years suffering in silence has finally seen her abuser face justice."

Operation Stovewood is the single biggest investigation of its kind, looking at allegations of abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

NCA officers have identified more than 1,100 victims, and to date 38 people – including Hussain - have been convicted, the agency said.

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