Rochdale grooming: Women plied with drink for sex, trial hears

Eight men are currently on trial at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester

A woman has told a court how she and another girl were plied with drink before being persuaded to have sex by alleged grooming gang members.

The woman, now aged 35, told the jury she eventually agreed to allow another girl to perform a sex act on her.

The other girl, referred to in court as Girl A, alleges she was sexually abused by grooming gang members in Rochdale.

Eight men deny a total of 80 offences against her and another complainant, Girl B, between 2002 and 2006.

The witness told Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester she would go to a flat above a disused butcher's shop in Rochdale, five nights a week after school and at weekends from the age of 14.

There she would socialise at the flat, owned by the family of two of the defendants, with "Pakistani lads" she knew from a local park.

Groups of older lads would buy spirits to drink at the flat and smoke cannabis there, the court heard.

She admitted having consensual sex with two of the defendants - and was in a "casual sexual relationship" with one of them, Ikhlaq Yousaf.

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And she told the jury on one occasion, while at the flat, Girl A was brought in.

She said: "Someone said to her, along the lines of, 'You know what to do'. And she started performing oral sex on someone else.

"To be honest I was quite drunk at that point. I didn't say anything because nobody else seemed bothered."

The woman said Yousaf then said "let's see how far she will go", and suggested to Girl A to have sex with her.

The witness told the jury: "I said I'm not interested.

"He started making me strong drinks, encouraging me more and more to do what he was suggesting.

"I continued to say no for an hour, by that point I was a lot more drunk and conceded. I agreed to let Girl A perform oral sex on me.

"Girl A had already been drinking alcohol, she was not as drunk as me."

Social media contact

Under cross-examination by Claire Ward KC, defending another man, Mohammed Ghani, the witness admitted initially lying to police when she was first contacted and questioned by officers.

She had told police she had no contact with Girl A on social media since 2016.

But the court was shown Facebook messages in March of that year between the witness and Girl A where she offered to "help" with naming some of the men involved.

And she admitted initially denying to police any sexual activity with Girl A.

'Beaten and raped'

Earlier, jurors were told Girl A was filmed being sexually assaulted with a brandy bottle while passed out from vodka as members of the gang laughed then shared the video around Rochdale.

The allegations only came to light in 2015 after Girl A told of being "beaten and raped" while on a parenting course and police were contacted.

As a result of what she told the police, they spoke with the second girl, Girl B - a childhood friend. Neither alleged victims, as complainants of sexual offences, can be identified.

Girl A also told a friend that what had happened to her was "so much worse" than Three Girls - the BBC drama about child sexual exploitation in Rochdale, and denied making allegations to claim criminal injury compensation.

The eight defendants, who all deny various sexual offences, are:

• Mohmmed Ghani, 38, of Bamford Way, Rochdale

• Insar Hussain, 36, of Bishop Street, Rochdale

• Ikhlaq Yousef, 38, of Stanley Street, Rochdale

• Jahn Shahid Ghani, 50, of Whitworth Road, Rochdale

• Martin Rhodes, 39, of Dinmore Avenue, Blackpool

• Ali Razza Hussain Kasmi, 36, of Brotherod Hall Road, Rochdale

• Aftar Khan, 34, of Sparth Bottoms Road, Rochdale,

• Mohammed Iqbal, 67, of Gainsborough Drive, Rochdale

The trial continues.