Three Nottingham men convicted of abusing vulnerable girls

Waqas Akhtar, Mohammed Saeed Ahmed and Hamza Shazad (left to right) will be sentenced later this month

Three men have been convicted of sexually abusing vulnerable teenage girls after police found a "treasure trove" of evidence against them.

Police said the offences took place in Nottingham city centre between February 2017 and January 2019.

They related to three girls in the care system who were 13 to 15 at the time, the force added.

Waqas Akhtar, Mohammed Saeed Ahmed and Hamza Shazad will be sentenced later this month.

• Latest news and stories from the East Midlands

Nottinghamshire Police said they started an investigation into the men in September 2018 after concerns were raised by agencies in charge of supporting two of the girls.

Officers spent 12 months gathering evidence before carrying out co-ordinated raids on the same day in March 2019.

Police found a "treasure trove" of digital evidence, including "significant evidence of grooming and abuse" on the men's phones against two of the girls and a third who had not been previously mentioned in inquiries.

• Waqas Akhtar, 26, of Glentworth Road, Radford, Nottingham, was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday of sexual activity with a girl under 16, penetrative sexual activity with a girl under 16, two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, and meeting a girl under 16 years of age following grooming

• Hamza Shazad, 27, of Ewart Road, Forest Fields, had earlier admitted three counts of making indecent photographs of children, one count of possessing extreme pornographic images and three counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child. He denied engaging in sexual communication with a child, two counts of causing or inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in penetrative sexual activity and one count of meeting a girl under 16 years of age following grooming. A jury found him not guilty of these counts on Wednesday

• Mohammed Saeed Ahmed, 22, of Vale Crescent South, previously pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing or inciting a girl under 16 to engage in sexual activity and sexual activity with a girl under 16

• Ansar Ahmed, 30, of Radford Road, Nottingham, was cleared of all charges against him

• Waqar Akhtar, 27, of Glentworth Road, Radford, Nottingham, was dismissed from the trial as there was insufficient evidence against him

Waqas Akhtar, Mohammed Saeed Ahmed and Shazad will be sentenced at the same court on 29 March.

'Incredibly shocking'

Det Insp Jamie Hill said: "These vulnerable young people were sexually abused and exploited by adult men who knew full well that what they were doing was wrong. These men groomed them for sex over a sustained period - sending and receiving sexually explicit messages.

"This was a complex and long-running investigation involving dozens of detectives. As is often the way with reports of child sexual exploitation, this case started not with a complaint by the victims, but by the very grave concerns of other people.

"These incidents, while rare, are incredibly shocking and it takes immense strength for victims to come forward and share their traumatic experiences."