A gang of three man who groomed and raped a vulnerable schoolgirl in a horrific campaign of child sex abuse have been jailed for life.

Mohammed Karrar, Bassam Karrar and Anjum Dogar befriended the 'lonely, friendless' 14-year-old girl and began grooming their victim by taking her to parties and giving her alcohol and drugs before making demands for sexual acts.

The victim was so vulnerable - and so deceived that the men were her friends - she felt unable to refuse their demands.

She did not recognise their treatment as abusive, as a result of their insidious and long-running grooming campaign.

Police said their predatory behaviour in Oxford came to an horrific head when the men put the victim in a state of being comatose, using a cocktail of drugs and drink at a party.

Anjum Dogar, 36, from Oxford, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years for one count of indecent assault and three counts of conspiracy to rape

She woke up with terrible injuries and realised that she had been viciously attacked and raped by the gang, a police spokesman said.

To her horror, she later discovered that she had become pregnant as a result of the attack and had an abortion.

The gang carried out their abuse between 2002 and 2005. At the time their vulnerable victim was aged between 14 and 16.

But in 2015 she disclosed her ordeal to a social worker and was then contacted by Thames Valley Police, who made a number of arrests following warrants in Oxford in 2016.

A jury took just five hours and three minutes to find them all guilty by a unanimous verdict, following their trial at Oxford Crown Court which ended in December.

Bassam Karrar, 39, from Oxford, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 10 years, for one count of indecent assault and one count of rape.

At the court today Judge Peter Ross handed down life sentences against each of them for the horrific campaign and sexual abuse.

Mohammed Karrar, 44, from Oxford, was sentenced to life imprisonment - to serve a minimum of 18 years - for three counts of indecent assault, one count of rape and one count of conspiracy to rape.

Bassam Karrar, 39, from Oxford, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 10 years, for one count of indecent assault and one count of rape.

Dogar, 36, from Oxford, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years for one count of indecent assault and three counts of conspiracy to rape.

Senior investigating officer Mark Glover, of the Thames Valley Police Major Crime Unit, said: 'These men's behaviour was predatory, callous and designed purely to sexually exploit a vulnerable teenage girl.

'She put her trust in them at a time when she felt lonely and friendless. These men pretended to be her friends when in fact they only wanted to subject her to sexual abuse.

Mohammed Karrar, 44, from Oxford, was sentenced to life imprisonment - to serve a minimum of 18 years - for three counts of indecent assault, one count of rape and one count of conspiracy to rape

'Their grooming of her was so elaborate that the victim did not realise that she had been groomed until many years later. It is thanks to her courage in talking to police officers and giving evidence during the trial, that these men have been sentenced for their crimes.

'I know the effect that their actions have had on the victim, and the effect they continue to have on her life and relationships. I hope that their sentencing will help her to continue to move on her with her life.

'Grooming and sexual abuse destroys lives. If you have been a victim of abuse, even if it did not happen recently, please come forward and report it. Thames Valley Police will always take your reports seriously, will offer you support and will carry out investigations wherever possible in order to ensure that offenders are brought to justice.'

An NSPCC spokesman said: 'These men subjected a vulnerable young girl to a campaign of vile abuse but her tremendous courage has helped unveil the extent of their abhorrent crimes and ensured they spend longer behind bars where they cannot harm other children.

'It's vital that she receives continued help and that all victims of sexual abuse know it is never their fault and that they will be supported when they speak out against the perpetrators.

'We must all be vigilant to the signs of grooming and act on our concerns by contacting the police or the NSPCC Helpline for advice.'