'Huddersfield grooming gang did not see girls as human beings'

The seven defendants deny rape and indecent assault of the girls in Huddersfield over 10 years

A grooming gang preyed on two "young and vulnerable" teenage girls, with one victim estimating she "had sex with up to 300 men", a court has heard.

Seven men face 12 charges of rape and indecent assault on the girls in the Huddersfield area from 1995 to 2007.

Leeds Crown Court heard the men gave the girls drink and drugs and did not "see them as humans beings", prosecutor Kate Batty said.

All seven men deny the charges. The case is set to last five weeks.

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Mrs Batty told the jury: "The girls were merely objects. They were not seen by these men as human beings."

'Utterly corrupted'

"By the time she was 15 years old, [one of the girls] estimates that she had had sex with up to 300 men," she added.

"Not because she wanted to, or because she was freely consenting to that sex, but because she became utterly corrupted and was made to believe that she had no choice.

"She submitted, and submission, ladies and gentleman, is not consent."

"They were passed around to other men without regard to consent and drink and drugs were a feature," Mrs Batty said.

"They were touched and groped and had sex on grubby mats."

Social services

The family of one girl, who was 14 years old when the abuse started, tried to stop the meetings and would go out looking for the youngster.

When the case was raised with social services her family was told "she must love it if she keeps going back", Mrs Batty said.

The court heard the second girl targeted was 12 years old and doing three paper rounds a day in her school uniform.

She was plied with alcohol and drugs and spent her days drunk and the men "used her for sex", the prosecution said.

On one occasion she was thrown out of a car drunk, with her trousers around her ankles.

"She was young, vulnerable and exploited under drink and drugs," Mrs Batty added.

The case continues.

The accused are:

• Usman Ali, 34, of Huddersfield, who denies two charges of rape

• Banaras Hussain, 39, of Huddersfield, who denies one charge of rape

• Abdul Majid, 35, of Huddersfield, who denies two counts of rape

• Gul Riaz, 43, of Huddersfield, who denies two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault

• Three other men who cannot be named for legal reasons each deny a count of rape