Rotherham child sex abuse gang ringleader admits rape

Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar was a ringleader of a gang in Rotherham that sexually exploited and abused young girls between 1997 and 2013, a court had heard

A man who is serving a 23-year prison term for leading a gang that sexually exploited children in Rotherham has admitted raping a 13-year-old girl.

Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar was jailed in 2018 following a police inquiry into child sex abuse offences committed in the town between 1997 and 2013.

At Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, he admitted raping a teenager between 20 August 2001 and 16 July 2002.

The 42-year-old is due to be sentenced at the same court on 18 December.

According to the court, Akhtar, formerly of Godstone Road, Rotherham, changed his plea at a mention hearing earlier and pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and two of indecent assault.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on multiple occasions he picked up the victim in his car and drove her to different locations before raping her between 2001 and 2002.

He groomed the teenager by providing her with alcohol and drugs each time they met, said a spokesperson.

"At the time, the victim was led to believe she was in a relationship with Akhtar, who would threaten to drive her to unknown locations and leave her stranded if she did not comply with his demands for sex," the CPS said.

"On one occasion, when she did refuse to engage in sexual activity, she recalled having to walk for hours after she was kicked out of the car by Akhtar in the early hours of the morning."

Clockwise from top left: Iqlak Yousaf, Nabeel Kurshid, Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar, Tanweer Ali, Salah Ahmed El-Hakam and Asif Ali were all jailed in 2018 following a trial

The 42-year-old was one of six men who were jailed after a trial in 2018 heard one girl had been sexually abused by "at least 100 Asian men" - of British Pakistani heritage - by the time she was 16, while another described being passed around.

At the time Judge Sarah Wright heard the men subjected five girls to "degrading and violent" acts using drink and drugs, with one of them describing how she was gang-raped in Sherwood Forest and threatened with being abandoned there if she did not comply.

One of the victims also told the court Akhtar would take her to meet older taxi drivers, who would then abuse her.

Zoe Becker, legal manager for the CPS, said: "The lifelong physical and emotional trauma caused to victims by men like Akhtar cannot be understated. "We would like to thank the victim in this case for coming forward and reporting this devastating crime."

Victims were assaulted and abused in locations across Rotherham, including Clifton Park

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Akhtar's conviction came following its Operation Stovewood inquiry, which was " the single largest law enforcement investigation" into historical child sex abuse offences dating back to 1997.

It began in 2014 after a report found at least 1,400 children in Rotherham were the victims of abuse between 1997 and 2013.

So far more than 200 people have been arrested and 24 convictions secured, the NCA has said.