Meet the predatory grooming gang members who had to answer for their sick crimes

ONE GROUP PLUNGED TO 'THE DEPTHS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY' 05:30, 02 Feb 2025 Sick grooming gangs have been in the news over the last few years after preying on the most vulnerable. Some

plied children with alcohol before inflicting their vile abuse. Others tried to kill their victims during bouts of horrific depravity. One gang, convicted this week in Scotland, commited

crimes described as 'harrowing'. Seven people will now be monitored for life following the abuse which was carried out at a drug den where crack cocaine and heroin was consumed.

Elsewhere, other abusers committed their crimes at a churchyard and on a filthy mattress above a shop. GET BREAKING NEWS ON BIRMINGHAMLIVE WHATSAPP Scroll down to read more about each case.

BARRY WATSON, ELAINE LANNERY, IAIN OWENS, CLARK, SCOTT FORBES AND PAUL BRANNAN Article continues below Members of a child sex abuse gang have been jailed for their crimes, which were

described as 'harrowing' and plunging to "the depths of human depravity." The seven people will now be monitored for life after they abused children in a drug den where

heroin and crack cocaine was used. Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48; and John Clark, 48, were convicted in

November 2023 following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Owens, Lannery, Brannan and Williams, were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by pushing her into a microwave and

trapping her in other places. Sentencing was delayed while risk assessments were carried out, which judge Lord Beckett had ordered due to the severity of the crimes. The trial, which lasted

for about eight weeks, heard evidence of systematic child sex abuse, described as "harrowing" by Lord Beckett who said it "plunges to the depths of human depravity".

Click here to read more. ALI SULTAN, AMJAD HUSSAIN AND MOHAMMAD RIZWAN A victim of four men from Telford who sexually abused her as a child has told of her relief after they were jailed. The

men were sent to prison after a trial in which it was heard the victim was forced to perform sex acts in a churchyard, raped above a shop on a filthy mattress, and violently abused when she

tried to refuse their advances. "When I found out they'd been found guilty, I just sobbed," the victim told the Sunday Mirror. "I was relieved, happy and sad, all at the

same time." In all, five men went on trial at Birmingham Crown Court, leading to convictions for four of the defendants while another was cleared. Sentencing the group to between

four-and-a-half and eight years, the judge said the men had abused a "helpless" victim. Addressing the ring-leader Mohammed Ali Sultan, Recorder of Birmingham, Judge Melbourne

Inman QC, said: "The victim was clearly extremely frightened of you, and you exercised significant control over her." Click here to read more. AHDEL ALI The ringleader of Britain’s

worst-ever child grooming gang was ‘left scarred for life’ after being stabbed in jail. Ahdel Ali needed 40 stitches after being attacked with a makeshift knife at Wakefield Prison in West

Yorkshire. The 31-year-old, who preyed on, abused and trafficked young girls, was left with a deep wound running from his neck to his shoulder. A source told The Sun that a simmering row

between Ali and another inmate sparked the attack. Prison officers split them up, but it is claimed the other inmate went back to his cell later on and found it had been covered in

excrement. They added: "He flipped, blamed Ali and went straight back for him with the blade. It was a really nasty wound. He lost a lot of blood." Ali is currently serving 18

years for his role in grooming 1,000 children as young as 13 in Telford. Click here to read more. MUBAREK ALI The ringleader of a grooming gang in Telford was sentenced to another 12 years

in jail after admitting further charges. Mubarek Ali was jailed 12 years ago for his part in a paedophile ring uncovered in the town as part of Operation Chalice. He pleaded guilty to rape,

trafficking and other offences against a young girl between 2004 and 2008. Ali was told he would serve 12 years in prison for the latest charges and an additional eight on extended licence.

Operation Chalice came six years before an independent inquiry was set up to investigate the scale of child sexual exploitation in Telford going back to the 1980s. Ali was automatically

released in 2017 after completing half his sentence but was recalled to prison nine months later for breaching the terms of his licence. That meant the extra years he would have spent on

this licence were added to his custodial sentence. SHABIR AHMED Shabir Ahmed, who urged his victims to call him 'Daddy', is serving a 22-year sentence after committing vile sexual

crimes against children in the town. The ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang was made an 'equalities representative' in prison. It emerged that the then 69-year-old was

appointed to the role at HMP Wakefield, a maximum security jail often dubbed 'monster mansion' due to its housing of sex offenders and high-profile criminals, in 2022. Ahmed, a

former taxi driver, once claimed his convictions represented a conspiracy to ‘scapegoat’ Muslims. The Prison Service said the post is intended to 'improve the behaviour' of

prisoners. But Maggie Oliver, a former GMP detective who resigned in disgust over the handling of sexual abuse in the town, described the move as 'unbelievable'. The role is

believed to involve gathering views from prisoners and liaising with officers. "I just think it's another example of how there is no real common sense," she said. "It is

really unbelievable that somebody like him should go anywhere near being an equalities officer. He showed himself right from the start that he is, I would say, racist in the extreme. There

is no way he even understands what equality is. "It shows for me a lack of judgement from the authorities that runs right through that case. It is another example of them appeasing real

criminals just to keep them happy and quiet, and I just don't agree with it." Click here to read more. ZEHROON RAZAK, FAYAZ AHMED, IBRAR HUSSAIN AND IMTIAZ AHMED Nine men have

heavy jail sentences for their part in a child sexual exploitation gang that groomed young vulnerable girls in Rochdale. The trial in 2012 heard the five victims – the youngest was 13 when

the abuse began – were plied with food, alcohol, drugs and gifts so they could be passed around a group of men for sex. The nine defendants were jailed for a total of 77 years, with the

ringleader, a 59-year-old man from Oldham, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, receiving a 19-year term after being convicted of two rapes, aiding and abetting rape, sexual assault

and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Kabeer Hassan, 25, of Oldham, was jailed for nine years for rape and three years, concurrently, for conspiracy. Hamid Safi, 22, an

illegal immigrant of no fixed address, was jailed for four years for conspiracy and one year, concurrently, for trafficking. The other men all came from Rochdale. Abdul Qayyum, 44, was

jailed for five years for conspiracy. Mohammed Amin, 45, was sentenced to five years for conspiracy and 12 months, concurrently, for sexual assault. Adil Khan, 42, was given eight years for

conspiracy and eight years, concurrently, for trafficking for sexual exploitation. Mohammed Sajid, 35, was sentenced to 12 years for rape, six years for conspiracy, one year for trafficking

and six years, concurrently, for sexual activity with a child. Abdul Rauf, 43, a married father-of-five, was jailed for six years for conspiracy and six years, concurrently, for trafficking

for sexual exploitation. Abdul Aziz, 41, a taxi driver, was sentenced to nine years for conspiracy and nine years, concurrently, for trafficking for sexual exploitation. AMREAZ ASGHAR,

PERWAZ ASGHAR, MOHAMMED SHABIR DIN, AND SAJID KHAN, ZEHROON RAZAQ, IBRAR HUSSAIN, FAYAZ AHMED AND IMTIAZ AHMED A Bradford district MP has urged the Attorney General to review the sentences

handed down to eight sex offenders. Ibrar Hussain and brothers Imtiaz and Fayaz Ahmed, all from Keighley, were convicted of raping a vulnerable young girl when she was in her early teens.

Hussain, 47, of Mornington Street, received six-and-a-half years for each of two rapes, to be served concurrently. Imtiaz Ahmed, 62, of Glen Ghyll, Dawson Road, was given nine years for a

single offence of rape. Fayaz Ahmed, 45, of Devonshire Street, got seven-and-a-half years for each of two rapes, to be served concurrently. Hussain was the only defendant present in person

as both Ahmed brothers are known to have absconded abroad. Their location is unknown. Click here to read more. JAMES EVANS, DAVID BAKER, MARK SMITH, NATALIE WELLINGTON, TRACY BAKER, KIRSTY

WEBB, PHILLIP WELLINGTON, ANN CLARE, PAMELA HOWELLS, LEE WEBB, DAVID EVANS, JASON EVANS, LUKE BAKER, NATASHA WEBB, MATTHEW EVANS, JOHN GRIFFITHS AND VIOLET GRIFFITHS Paedophiles involved in

the biggest-ever child sex abuse ring in the West Midlands have been sentenced to more than 145 years. A total of 21 people have been convicted of sickening crimes against seven children up

to the age of 12. The 'abhorrent and cruel' offences stretched over almost a decade in the Walsall and Wolverhampton areas. A huge six-year probe into the abuse was launched by

West Midlands Police after one of the victims went to hospital in 2017. It is the biggest investigation of its kind in West Midland Police’s history, with one detective branding the

'systematic' abuse as the 'most shocking' he has ever seen. A judge sentenced 17 defendants - seen in the montage above - for their part in the sex abuse gang dubbed

Operation Satchel. A total of 13 defendants were handed custodial sentences, while one of the perpetrators was even sentenced to life behind bars for their horrific offending. Four others

are due to discover their fate next month. Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Drover, who was head of investigation for West Midlands Police, said: "So in 2017, police received the

first report from a child alleging they had been subject to systematic sexual abuse. That started a six-year investigation involving specialist investigators from West Midlands Police,

children's social workers, along with experts in mental health. Article continues below "We were able to identify seven children that had been subject over a number of years to

systematic abuse that has been some of the most shocking abuse that I have seen in my career and an investigation which turned into one of the biggest investigations in the West Midlands in

relation to child sexual abuse." Click here to read more. SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL OFFENCES - WHERE TO GET HELP THE SURVIVORS TRUST The Survivors Trust is the largest umbrella

agency for specialist rape and sexual abuse services in the UK. Their services work with victims and survivors of all ages, all genders, of all forms of sexual violence, sexual abuse and

sexual exploitation, including support for partners and family members. If you have been a victim of a sexual offence, you can call the free helpline on 08088 010 818. RAPE AND SEXUAL

VIOLENCE PROJECT (RSVP) The Rape and Sexual Violence Project - covering Birmingham and Solihull - offers a wide range of services to both survivors and the people supporting you, including

compassionate support for male survivors and children and young people. You can contact the RSVP for free support via their helpline 0121 643 4136 or [email protected]. WEST MIDLANDS POLICE

If you wish to report a sexual offence, no matter when it took place, you can find out more information here. If you are in immediate danger, always call 999.