'Evil' men raped and trafficked teenage girls in Coventry Published duration 21 December 2016

media caption Sex gang treated victims 'like pieces of meat'

Five men have been convicted of sexually abusing and trafficking six teenage girls in Coventry.

Waqaar Khan, Kadeem Bourne, Kenan Kelly, Marcus Woolcock and Zahid Chaudhary were accused of almost 40 offences, Warwick Crown Court heard.

Ringleader Khan befriended the girls, aged 15 to 17, on social media before picking them up and forcing them to have sex, sometimes filming it.

West Midlands Police described them as "brazen, calculating and evil".

The court heard the men took the girls, some of whom were in care, to secluded areas of the city and sometimes gave them alcohol or drugs before abusing and trafficking them for sex.

One girl, aged 17, said she was knocked out by one of the men and came round to see them watching a video of herself being raped while she was unconscious.

Det Ch Insp Ian Green said Khan came to the attention of police in March when he was a mutual "friend" on the accounts of several vulnerable young girls in the city.

When police subsequently examined his phone, officers found thousands of text messages containing "sexualised conversations and several videos of graphic sexual abuse".

image caption Det Ch Insp Ian Green said the men felt they were untouchable

The girls identified the other men and a "comprehensive investigation" was started.

"It was the brazen nature of their offending that they actually thought they were untouchable and these girls wouldn't report it through fear," Mr Green said.

"So I'd like to thank the bravery of the girls for coming forward to bring these men to justice."

The men, who all know each other, showed no remorse or empathy for their victims, he added.

The uncle of one of the girls described them as "despicable rats".

He said: "They're out there prowling through social media acting on vulnerable girls and abusing the life out of them for their own satisfaction and videoing them for their gratification - they're just treating them like pieces of meat."

Khan, 24, was convicted of three charges of rape and and two of trafficking. He was cleared of one charge of trafficking and seven rape charges.

Bourne, 23, was convicted of three rape charges, one sexual assault and one of trafficking. He was cleared of four rape charges.

Kelly 18, was found guilty of two rape charges, one of trafficking and one of sexual assault.

Chaudhary 20, was found guilty of trafficking. He was cleared of one charge of rape and sexual assault.

Woolcock, 22, was convicted of trafficking and sexual assault. He was cleared of five charges of rape, one of attempted rape, sexual assault, and trafficking.