EIGHT MEN HAVE been jailed for a combined total of 96 years for the child sexual exploitation of three young girls in Rotherham between 1999 and 2003.

The men were convicted at Sheffield Crown Court and sentenced to between 5 and 19 years in prison.

This follows a four-week trial that began in September 2016 and recalled years of sexual abuse against young girls in Rotherham.

Sageer Hussain, 30, of Tanglewoods, Goole – 19 years

Mohammed Whied, 32, of Psalters Lane, Kimberworth – 5 years

Ishtiaq Khaliq, 33, of Cherry Brook, Eastwood – 17 years

Waleed Ali, 34, of Canklow Road, Rotherham – 13 years

Asif Ali, 30, of Clough Street, Rotherham – 12 years

Masoued Malik, 32, of Bridgewater Way, Rotherham – 15 years

Naeem Rafiq, 33, of Upper Clara Street, Bradgate – 8 years

Basharat Hussain, 40, of no fixed address and currently on remand at HMP Wakefield was given an additional 7 years to run alongside his current sentence

Sageer Hussain was found guilty of four counts of rape and one of indecent assault. Mohammed Whied was found guilty of aiding and abetting rape. Ishtiaq Khaliq was found guilty of rape and three counts of indecent assault. Waleed Ali was found guilty of rape and indecent assault. Asif Ali was found guilty of rape.

Masoued Malik was found guilty of rape, false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit indecent assault. Naeem Rafiq was found guilty of conspiracy to commit indecent assault and false imprisonment and Basharat Hussain was found guilty of indecent assault.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Tate said: “The verdicts are of massive importance to the young women who have come forward to report years of horrific sexual abuse at the hands of these criminals.

They had to endure what no child should and have shown remarkable bravery throughout our inquiry. From coming forward to officers, to providing video and written interviews, through to reliving their traumatic and awful abuse before the jury, they have carried themselves with composure and dignity.

“I am so grateful to these women, many of whom remain incredibly vulnerable, for offering their support to our investigative team and I am so pleased that their voices have been heard and their abusers have been held to account for their vile crimes.

“It is difficult to put into words the damage and impact of sexual exploitation on children, but I hope that by hearing these brave women’s accounts, other victims of this awful crime find the strength to come forward and tell someone what has happened or is happening to them.

“There remains much to do to tackle this organised and often devious crime, and our officers will continue their work to safeguard victims, identify and apprehend offenders to build further prosecution cases.”