Halifax grooming gang members lose sentence appeal

The men were convicted of child sex offences after three separate trials at Leeds Crown Court in 2016

Six members of a gang jailed for grooming and sexually abusing teenage girls in Halifax have failed in their bid to reduce their sentences.

They were among men convicted at Leeds Crown Court in 2016.

Appeals were lodged by Hedar Ali, Haider Ali, Khalid Zaman, Mohammed Ramzan, Tahir Mahmood, and Taukeer Butt.

One girl was said to have been passed around like a "sex toy" between 2009 and 2011.

A Court of Appeal judge said her ordeal "transcends the imagination of most people".

'Serial sexual plaything'

Dismissing the appeal bids, Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Lavender in Sheffield, said a girl - referred to as A and who was 13 when the abuse began - was "used as a serial sexual plaything by these appellants and many others" who plied her with drink and drugs.

"It is difficult to imagine a child being more damaged by the sexual abuse to which A was exposed," he said.

All of the men were sentenced for their part in the sexual exploitation of the girl and another teenager during four separate trials.

But arguing the case for the six men, their barristers said while they accepted A had suffered extreme psychological harm, the trial judge had exaggerated their roles in creating that harm.

Lord Burnett said the court rejected that argument in all cases.

He said the "extreme vulnerability of A in the context of her being passed around from pillar to post and used as a sex toy by these and other men" was a key reason the trial judge placed the offending in the highest category for sentencing purposes.

The gang

• Hedar Ali, 36, of Bradford, was jailed for 25 years after being found guilty of two counts of rape and two counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation

• Haider Ali, 41, of Halifax, sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of sexual activity with a child and causing a person to engage in sexual activity

• Khalid Zaman, 38, of Bradford, jailed for 17-and-a-half years after being convicted of two counts of rape and supplying class B drugs. He denied all the charges

• Mohammed Ramzan, 35, of Bradford, jailed for 15 years after being found guilty of rape

• Haaris Ahmed, 32, of Halifax, sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison after he was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child and with the supply of class B drugs

• Tahir Mahmood, 43, of Halifax, jailed for 11 years after being found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child and sexual assault.

• Taukeer Butt, 31, of Halifax, jailed for 10 years after he was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child

• Amaar Ali Ditta, 27, of Halifax, sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child

• Azeem Subhani, 25, of Halifax, jailed for nine years after being found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child

• Talib Saddiq, 31, of Halifax, jailed for eight years after he was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child.

• Sikander Malik, 31, of Halifax, jailed for seven years after being found guilty of sexual activity with a child

• Mohammed Ali Ahmed, 43, of Halifax, jailed for six-and-a-half years after being found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child

• Aftab Hussain, 37, of Halifax, jailed for six years after pleading guilty to two charges of sexual activity with a child last September

• Mansoor Akhtar, 25, of Huddersfield, was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child but admitted to supplying Class B drugs. He was jailed for six years

• Sikander Ishaq, 31, of Halifax, sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child

• Fasil Mahmood, 37, of Halifax, was jailed for 10 months after he was found guilty of supplying class B drugs