A 12-year-old girl was repeatedly raped after a 'relentless grooming campaign' carried out by a Romanian gang on Facebook, a court heard.

Brothers Sebastian Baltatu, 18, and Ilie 'Daniel' Baltatu, 22; and cousins Parizian Calin, 20, and Adrian Calin, 20, 'bombarded' vulnerable youngsters with messages trying to persuade them to meet up for sex.

They have now been jailed for a total of more than 25 years following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

The gang was snared by Greater Manchester Police's Operation Enfield after a friend of one of the three victims identified so far came forward to say she had been targeted as well.

One of the victims was in a children's home while another lived with foster parents and the court heard they were chosen by the gang because they were 'looking for people to be close to'.

Brothers Ilie 'Daniel' Baltatu, left, 22, and Sebastian Baltatu, right, 18, were part of a Romanian child grooming gang that has been jailed for a total of more than 25 years after sexually abusing three girls in the Manchester area

In impact statements read to the court, one of the girls said: 'No words can explain what I was put through.

'At the time, I had no idea why it happened. My anxiety was getting worse and I hated being left on my own.

'Now I can't even go in my corner shop without being anxious or scared anymore. The impact this has had on my life has been unbelievable.'

Another said she had been through 'the worst time of her life' and felt like she was 'completely taken advantage of'.

She added: 'I feel sick when I think about what these people were doing. I think there might be even more victims that we don't know about.'

Judge Suzanne Goddard described their behaviour as 'appalling'; said the men 'knew what they were doing' and that 'sexual offending had become normalised' in the group.

She said: 'Each of the victims have shown considerable bravery in coming forward. When one considers the difficult childhood that each has had it's understandable why they came looking for friendships.

'None of these girls bear any responsibility. All of the girls had to move away from Manchester and from their family and friends because of you and what you did.

'Each of those girls were particularly vulnerable because of their difficult childhood and their time in care. If each of you had tried to get to know them you would have known that.'

She added: 'All [of the defendants] are members of the Romanian community in Manchester. Many of your family members and friends from that community have been present during this court case.

'I hope that each of you will reflect on this appalling behaviour and will consider how this abuse can be controlled within their community.'

Other members of the grooming gang have fled abroad and are still being hunted.

Operation Enfield, which was launched after a friend of one of the victims told a care worker she had also been targeted, is still ongoing with police urging other victims to come forward.

One victim - who was 12 at the time the abuse started - told police she was raped by Sebastian Baltatu at Crowcroft Park in Manchester before being raped a number of other times by Parizian Calin.

Adrian Calin, left, 20, was sentenced to a year in a young offenders' institute for inciting sexual activity with a child while cousin Parizian Calin, also 20, was jailed for 13 years for rape

Parizian Calin took her to a 'brothel house' in Levenshulme and tried to have sex with her, before sending another Romanian man into the room straight afterwards to ask her for sex again.

Sebastian Baltatu and Parizian Calin are now fathers while trees and bushes in the park have since been cut back to make it 'more open' to stop gangs using them for cover.

Prosecutor Jonathan Savage told the court: 'Parizian Calin would persistently ask the victim for sex and would be pestering her on social media.

'On one occasion, after having sex with her on the park, he told her to wait where she was and then another man came in and asked her to perform oral sex on him.

'On another occasion, she was taken to a house by Parizian Calin. She refused to have sex with him.

'Moments later, a man she had never seen before who she thought was also Romanian came into the room and asked her for oral sex.

'The sexual demands from Parizian Calin were relentless.'

Another girl, who was under the age of 13, was preyed on by Ilie Baltatu - who is known as Daniel - before he incited her to engage in sexual activity.

Mr Savage said: 'This girl said she was in a relationship with Daniel. He had sex with her on three occasions.'

Adrian Calin incited a 15-year-old to engage in sexual activity when he picked her up in his car on one occasion, the court heard.

Mr Savage added: 'This victim became friends with Daniel on Facebook. She would receive messages from him regularly.

'She came to Adrian Calin and Parizian Calin through Daniel. Adrian Calin was keen to meet up with the girl and one on occasion he asked her to perform oral sex on him.'

Sebestian Baltatu, Parizian and Adrian Calin all denied the offences, but were found guilty after a trial. Daniel Baltatu pleaded guilty from the outset.

In mitigation, Jaime Hamilton said his client Parizian Calin had one only previous conviction for theft and at his age, a prison sentence would be 'difficult to serve'.

He also told the court how his client had a partner and a young daughter.

John Richards argued that because Sebastian Baltatu was only 14 at the time his committed the offence, he was ultimately 'groomed himself'.

He said: 'When he raped his victim, his co-defendants had said to him "well done brother". They effectively encouraged him to take part.'

Ilie Daniel Baltatu, of HMP Manchester, was sentenced to eight years for grooming; sexual activity with a child under 16; child abduction; inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and sexual assault against a child under 13.

Sebastian Baltatu was jailed for three years in a young offender institution for rape of a child under 13.

Adrian Calin, of Levenshulme, Manchester, was sentenced to a year in a young offender institution for inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity.

One victim, a 12-year-old girl, was repeatedly raped in Crowcroft Park in Levenshulme, Manchester, which has since had trees and bushes cut back to make it more open. Pictured is the crime scene

Parizian Calin, of Levenshulme, was jailed for 13 years for rape of a child under 13; arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence; causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and sexual assault on a child under 13.

The men were ordered to sign the sex offender register and Parizian Calin and Ilie Baltatu were made the subjects of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Speaking after the case, Supt Rebecca Boyce, of GMP's City Division, said: 'We believe it is part of a sophisticated grooming operation by males operating in that area. We do believe there are other victims.

'These victims have shown the utmost bravery by giving evidence and we cannot underestimate the courage and strength it takes for victims of these abhorrent crimes to come forward.

'The 12-year-old was the first victim and she was raped almost every time she went to that park to meet the males - on one occasion in a house.'

She added: 'It tends to be young people being exploited because of multiple vulnerabilities in their background. Mainly by age, but also by having quite chaotic backgrounds.

'I believe this group were targeting young girls because of their age. They are susceptible to a barrage of grooming of attention and wanting friends.

'We would like to thank the victims. For girls this young, this vulnerable, having gone through the trauma that they experienced to find the courage to attend a trial, we think its quite remarkable.

'It takes a lot of support, rapport building, and relationship building with police and social workers in order to get to a point where the victims feel strong enough to give evidence.

'There will be post trial support that will have to be in place for a number of years because of the trauma they have suffered.'

The case and others has resulted in the setting up of a complex safeguarding hub operating from Greenheys Police Station.

It investigates child sexual exploitation and is made of police officers, children's services, adult services, health, and youth offending staff, all working together.

Supt Boyce said police worked closely with the Romany and Romanian communities within south Manchester to avoid any backlash against them in the wake of the case.

She added: 'We asked the neighbourhood teams where there are Romany and Romanian communities to be patrolling in those areas, talking to members of that community.

'We briefed councillors in advance in case any of their constituents raised issues with them.

'We have put measures in place to ensure there is no backlash against those communities.

'These are four individuals that have committed these crimes - they are not representative of their wider community - they are four individuals within that community.'