Rotherham sex abuse trial: Alleged abuse victim 'had no choice'

Seven people are on trial at Sheffield Crown Court in connection with the alleged the sexual exploitation of children in Rotherham between 1987 and 2003

An alleged victim of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham said she felt she had no choice when asked to perform sex acts on several men.

The woman told Sheffield Crown Court she was just 12 when she was picked up from a children's home and abused by Basharat Hussain and two other men.

She also said she had been taken to Blackpool and raped by several men.

Mr Hussain, who denies the claims, is one of seven people on trial over alleged child abuse in Rotherham.

The witness, who cannot be named due to the nature of the allegations, told jurors said she was first abused after she and a friend were taken out for a meal by Mr Hussain and a number of other Asian males.

She said: "I felt very grown up. They took us out and paid for the meal. I did not feel I could say no."

She went on to tell the court that she was taken to Blackpool aged 16 and made to work in a restaurant, in a move prosecutors say was orchestrated by Mr Hussain.

She said that she was kept there for several months and was forced to have sex most days.

She said that when she returned to Rotherham she discovered she had several sexually transmitted infections.

Defendants on trial:

Arshid Hussain, 40, High Street, East Cowick, Goole, faces 30 charges, including five counts of rape.

Qurban Ali, 53, Clough Road, Rotherham, faces four charges, including rape and conspiracy to rape.

Majid Bostan, 37, Ledsham Road, Rotherham faces one charge of indecent assault.

Sajid Bostan, 38, Broom Avenue, Rotherham faces seven charges, including four counts of rape,.

Basharat Hussain, 39, of no fixed abode, faces 15 charges including two counts of rape.

Karen MacGregor, 58, Barnsley Road, Wath, South Yorkshire, faces four charges, including conspiracy to rape.

Shelley Davies, 40, Wainwright Road, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, faces three charges, including conspiracy to rape.

Cross-examining the witness on behalf of Mr Hussain, Gillian Batts said: "The truth of the situation is you've never met Basharat Hussain have you?"

The witness replied: "Yes I have."

It is alleged Mr Hussain was one of seven people involved in the sexual exploitation of children between 1987 and 2003.

It is claimed the children were "targeted, sexualised and, in some instances, subjected to acts of a degrading and violent nature".

The trial continues.