Huddersfield child sex abuse: Five men jailed Published duration 1 November 2019

image copyright PA image caption The men were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court

Five men have been jailed for grooming and sexually abusing vulnerable girls in Huddersfield.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC told the men as he sentenced them at Leeds Crown Court: "This abuse was vile and wicked. None of you has expressed any remorse for what you did."

They were found guilty last week.

A police investigation into child sexual exploitation in the West Yorkshire town has now seen 27 men convicted.

One 32-year-old defendant, convicted of five counts of rape and who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for 14 years.

The judge said he subjected a teenage girl to a "campaign of rape", abusing her on a regular basis in a Huddersfield park, using sleeping pills to subdue her.

Umar Zaman, 31, and Samuel Fikru, 32, of William Street, Huddersfield, were each jailed for eight years after they were convicted of two counts of rape.

Zaman has absconded and is believed to be in Pakistan, the court heard.

Another 32-year-old found guilty of a single count of rape was jailed for eight years.

A 38-year-old man found guilty of attempted rape was jailed for seven years.

Their names cannot be reported for legal reasons.

The men were convicted in a fifth trial relating to Operation Tendersea, carried out by West Yorkshire Police.

The offences dated back to between 2005 and 2008, when the girls were aged from 12 to 16.

Judge Marson told the court it involved "a large number of men, principally Asian men", who have been charged in relation to "the grooming and sexual abuse of a large number of children".

The judge described how vulnerable girls were plied with drugs and alcohol and passed between men in Huddersfield.

He said the girls thought they were being shown genuine affection but this was an illusion.

A sixth defendant, Banaris Hussain, 36, also of William Street, who was convicted of one count of rape, is due to be sentenced on Monday.

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