
Tommy Robinson has celebrated the jailing of 20 sex abusers - despite nearly causing their trial to collapse - after a grooming gang who targeted vulnerable girls as young as eleven in Huddersfield were jailed for a combined total of more than 220 years.

As with similar cases in a string of British towns and cities, the gang plied their victims - some of whom were as young as 11 - with alcohol or drugged them before carrying out horrific sex attacks.

The court heard evidence from 15 victims during the trials and the judge said he fears none of them will ever recover from their ordeals.

In victim statements the girls described coming into contact with the abusers after being bullied at school and said the relationship became 'one of those things that you couldn't get out of'.

EDL founder Robinson - who was jailed for contempt of court after posting a video in breach of reporting restrictions in May, a move which put the trial in jeopardy - claimed without providing evidence that one defendant on the run had fled to Pakistan.

The pattern of exploitation of mainly white girls by groups of men of mainly Pakistani heritage mirrors what has happened in a number of other towns around the country, including Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford.

The Leeds trials attracted protests by right wing groups and EDL founder Tommy Robinson, who was jailed for contempt for endangering one of the cases with social media posts. He has since been freed but faces another hearing.

Amere Singh Dhaliwal (left), described as a ringleader of the gang, got a life sentence for 22 rape offences. Abdul Rehman (centre) - whose nickname was 'Beastie' - was jailed for 16 years. Mohammed Azeem got five years for drugs offences

Nahman Mohammed (left), known as 'Dracula' got 15 years. Zahid Hassan (centre) was jailed for 18 years. Manzoor Hassan (right) got five years for drugs offences

Mohammed Kammer (left) got 16 years. Irfan Ahmed (centre) got eight years for exploitation. Faisal Nadeem (right) got 12 years

The abuse, which centred in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, took place 'in cars, car parks, houses, a snooker centre, a takeaway, a park and other places', the court heard.

At least one of the victims attempted suicide and another had to have an abortion after becoming pregnant, prosecutor Richard Wright QC told the jury.

The men referred to each other using a series of nicknames - 'Beastie', 'Dracula' and 'Nurse' - which were also used as their monikers during the trials.

Ringleader Amere Singh Dhaliwal, 35, was jailed for life earlier this year and told he must serve a minimum of 18 years in prison by a judge who said: 'Your treatment of these girls was inhuman.'

Dhaliwal, who is married with children and converted to the Sikh religion five years ago, carried out some of gang's most sickening abuse.

He often took video footage of abuse taking place to share and distribute with other men. He also forced one victim to perform a sex act with a bottle during a supposed game of 'truth or dare game' that he organised.

Another member of the grooming gang Sajid Hussain, known as 'Fish', went on the run from the trial held at Leeds Crown Court and was sentenced in his absence.

He had been recognised by his victim in a shop after he had served her while she was wearing her school uniform. He was convicted raping one of the victims when she was just 14 years old.

Mohammed Aslam (left) got 15 years. Raj Singh Barsran (centre) got an 17-year jail term. Mohammed Akram (right) faces jail

Wiqas Mahmud (left) got 15 years for rape. Nasarat Hussain (centre left) was jailed for 17 years. Niaz Ahmed (centre right) faces jail. Mansoor Akhtar (right), nicknamed 'Boy', was jailed for eight years

Sajid Hussain (left) got 17 years for rape. Mohammed Irfraz (centre left) got six years for trafficking. Asif Bashir (centre right), and Mohammed Imran Ibrar (right) face jail when they come back before a court at a later date

How sex gang trial led to Tommy Robinson's jailing A judge found that the Huddersfield grooming trials were put at risk by the antics of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson (pictured when he was arrested). He flouted reporting restrictions designed to ensure the proceedings were fair and claimed the activities of the gang were being covered up because the offenders were of Asian origin. In reality, reporting of the case was postponed because the defendants were being dealt with in separate trials. In such cases, reporting is sometimes postponed until the final case so jurors cannot be prejudiced by reading accounts of previous trials. Video footage showed him approaching defendants outside Leeds Crown Court. The video was viewed on social media 250,000 times within hours. Robinson was given a 13-month jail term by Judge Geoffrey Marson QC in May, but was released from HMP Onley in Rugby on August 1 after successfully challenging the contempt of court ruling. The ban on reporting has now been lifted and the 20 cases are no longer active. However, Robinson could be sent back to jail if a ruling of contempt of court is made at a fresh hearing, due to take place at the Old Bailey on October 23. Advertisement

All of the victims were 'vulnerable because of family and other circumstances', the court was told.

Describing the men's activities, the prosecutor Mr Wright QC said: 'The way children like this were groomed by men like the defendants is very simple.

'They identify a vulnerable child who is socially isolated and not well supported by friends and family.

'Then they befriend that child and make them feel special - whether that be by simply appearing as someone who wants to spend time with them, or by flattery, or by plying them with drink and drugs.'

Girls 'regularly went missing from home, causing great distress to their families' and 'became secretive and aggressive' as they often came home under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Leeds Crown Court heard during the course of trials held throughout 2018.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: 'These were planned offences by a large group of Asian men.

'Having been plied with alcohol and drugs, girls were raped, they were trafficked to isolated areas or to houses for the purpose of sexual abuse by those who took them or by others.

'When taken to isolated places such as the moors or a reservoir, if they didn't comply they were, on occasions, beaten; they were told they would be left to make their own way back, children on their own, children late at night in isolated areas.

The judge added: 'They were taken to so-called parties at houses where there would be older Asian men.

'Again, they were plied with alcohol and drugs, on occasion drinks were spiked and many times these girls were rendered senseless.

'They would then be taken to a room where, one by one, men would go and abuse these girls sexually.

'Sometimes no contraception was used, sometimes plastic bags were used as condoms; it was disgusting and degrading.'

The judge added: 'It is likely that many, if not all, of these girls will never recover from the abuse they suffered'.

Tommy Robinson celebrated the jailing of 20 sex gang members - and slammed the 'establishment' for releasing some of them on bail - despite jeopardising the trial with an illegal Facebook video.

An Asian sex gang which operated in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire has been jailed for more than 200 years

Gang's sickening call to victim's care home The trial heard one girl, who had been taken into care, was abducted from the home by the gang, supplied with drugs and made to perform oral sex. After she returned, the care home received a phone call and a man asked for the girl telling care home staff, 'tell her I want to f*** her'. The carer told them it was illegal and the girl was only 12. The man's response was to say: 'That's nothing to do with you we want her back, just let her go or else'. A girl abused from the age of 11 was abducted by the grooming gang while in social services care and found herself under arrest when police tracked her down during a rape ordeal. The girl was repeatedly snatched from a children’s home, drugged and locked up in rooms where she was used for sex. She wept while recalling a horrific assault aged 12 when she and another girl were lying on a mattress in a house after being fed five to ten ecstasy tablets and given neat shots of vodka. She would be passed around older Asian men who would pester her for sex on the street and tail her in their cars. One victim told the jury that she was raped during ‘truth or dare’ games organised by ringleader Amere Dhaliwal. She said one attacker laughed after being given his dare but then forced himself on her in front of the others who ‘thought it was hilarious’. The teenager was a victim in 33 counts featuring many of the 20 defendants. She was just 13 and waiting at a bus stop in her school uniform when approached by three of the men. ‘Young and impressionable’, she was flattered by the attention of the adults who gave her cigarettes, then drink and drugs for sex. Advertisement

The EDL founder was arrested in May as he reported about the case live on Facebook from outside the court, breaching a reporting ban.

He was jailed and later released on a technicality, but faces a fresh hearing at the Old Bailey on October 23.

The reporting ban was imposed to prevent jurors in one case being influenced by another, because the 20 abusers were dealt with in a series of trials.

Robinson - whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - wrote on Facebook: 'Reporting restrictions lifted on Leeds case, all 10 from that trial I attended were convicted.

'One of these sick child rapists is on the run in Pakistan because he was given bail!

'No bail for me though, they took me off the street and put me in prison inside five hours but 10 mass child rapists with 15 witness statements of child rape spend a year walking the streets with your children because the establishment thought they posed no risk!'

The mention of a 'rapist on the run' was an apparent reference to Sajid Hussain, known as 'Fish', who went on the run and was sentenced in his absence.

Robinson did not provide any evidence for his claim Hussain was on the run in Pakistan.

Speaking after the case, West Yorkshire Police's Detective Chief Inspector Ian Mottershaw said: 'I would like to pay tribute to each and every victim who came forward firstly to report these heinous crimes, but to go through the gruelling court process which has taken nearly a year to conclude and to bravely give their accounts to us and the court.

'I cannot praise them enough for their courage and tenacity in helping us secure justice for them against these defendants.

'We welcome the convictions and sentences which have been passed down throughout the year to these depraved individuals, who subjected vulnerable young children to unthinkable sexual and physical abuse.

'Child sexual exploitation is abhorrent and is one of the most important challenges facing the police. Safeguarding the vulnerable and protecting victims is West Yorkshire Police's top priority.

'However unwilling victims may be initially to engage with police or other agencies, or to give evidence against the perpetrators, they will always be supported, listened to and protected from further harm.'

Kirklees council and social services unit have commissioned an independent expert to see if lessons can be learnt.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: 'These sick Asian paedophiles are finally facing justice. I want to commend the bravery of the victims. For too long, they were ignored. Not on my watch. There will be no no-go areas.'

The Huddersfield sex gang and their vile nicknames - Amere Singh Dhaliwal, nicknamed 'Pretos', 35 - jailed for life, minimum of 18 years - Irfan Ahmed, nicknamed 'Finny', 34 - jailed for eight years - Zahid Hassan, nicknamed 'Little Manny', 29 - jailed for 18 years - Mohammed Kammer, nicknamed 'Kammy', 34 - jailed for 16 years - Mohammed Rizwan Aslam, nicknamed 'Big Riz', 31 - jailed for 15 years - Abdul Rehman, nicknamed 'Beastie', 31- jailed for 16 years - Raj Singh Barsran, nicknamed 'Raj', 34 - jailed for 17 years - Nahman Mohammed, nicknamed 'Dracula' 32 - jailed for 15 years - Mansoor Akhtar, nicknamed 'Boy', 27 - jailed for eight years - Wiqas Mahmud, nicknamed 'Vic', 38 - jailed for 15 years - Nasarat Hussain, nicknamed 'Nurse', 30 - jailed for 17 years - Sajid Hussain, nicknamed 'Fish' 33 - jailed for 17 years - Mohammed Irfraz, nicknamed 'Faj' 30 - jailed for six years - Faisal Nadeem, nicknamed 'Chiller' 32 - jailed for 12 years - Mohammed Azeem, nicknamed 'Mosabella', 33 - jailed for 18 years - Manzoor Hassan, nicknamed 'Big Manny' 38 - jailed for five years - Niaz Ahmed, 54, nicknamed 'Shaq' - to be sentenced on November 1 - Mohammed Imran Ibrar, nicknamed 'Bully', 34 - to be sentenced on November 1 - Asif Bashir, nicknamed 'Junior', 33 - sentenced November 1 - Mohammed Akram, nicknamed 'Kid' 33 - to be sentenced on November 1 Advertisement

Gang targeted girls bullied at school and made them feel 'cool' - but later switched to threats of beatings and horrific rapes with plastic bags as condoms

Many of the 15 girls who were abused by a gang in Huddersfield were from 'isolated' backgrounds, with one suffering from a mild learning disability and another being vulnerable as a result of her mother's alcohol and drug addictions.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC told how the girls were 'made to feel special' by the group's flattery, and fell into their trap as a result of their 'youth and naivety'.

One of these victims said she came into contact with the group after being bullied at school and said she did 'sort of like the attention' they were giving her.

But the same girl said that her relationship with some of the defendants became 'one of those things that you couldn't get out of'.

Grooming gang member Raj Singh Barsran swore at photographers as he walked into Leeds Crown Court during his trial

Another victim who had a similar experience told the court how the outings with the predatory men initially made her feel grown up, adding: 'But we weren't really, we were young, but when you are young you do think it is cool to be doing them things, going against what your mum says and stuff like that.'

During his sentencing remarks, Judge Marson told how the girls would be taken to isolated places, where defendants could threaten and beat them if they failed to comply with their demands for sex.

At house parties, victims would be plied with alcohol and drugs, before being sexually abused 'one by one' by the men, sometimes with no contraception or with a plastic bag being used as an alternative.

Describing the experience as 'disgusting and degrading', the judge told how girls would wake up 'naked or partially clothed', unaware of what had happened to them.

One girl said: 'It was just like a continual lifestyle, I didn't know how to get out of it. You feel manipulated and scared in a way that if you don't meet these guys then something is going to happen.

'You'd see people with knives or fighting so you do feel scared and you do feel intimidated, but on the other side you feel like you want to be a rebel because you're that age.

'They're quite manipulative and when you're in that situation you're so pressured, you feel so stupid and dirty and horrible.'

The judge said one 13-year-old was found in the road totally incapacitated and incoherent and was later 'drifting in and out of consciousness and crying.'

Huddersfield becomes latest in a series of British towns and cities rocked by Asian sex gang investigations

Rotherham - The issue of child abuse in the town first came to light in 2010 when five Asian men were jailed for sexual offences against under-age girls.

A 2014 inquiry found there were more than 1,400 victims of grooming and sex exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

Rochdale - The trial of nine men for grooming young white girls for sex attracted widespread public outrage and sparked a national debate when they were convicted in 2012.

The gang received jail sentences of between four and 19 years for offences committed against five girls - aged between 13 and 15 - in and around Rochdale between 2008 and 2010.

The case returned to the public consciousness earlier this year when the BBC broadcast its Three Girls drama based on the experiences of some of the victims.

(Top row, left to right:) Tayab Dad, Nasar Dad, Basharat Dad. (Bottom row left to right:) Matloob Hussain, Mohammed Sadiq and Amjad Ali groomed two girls and sexually abused in Rotherham

Newcastle - A total of 17 men and one woman were convicted of, or admitted, charges including rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution, in Newcastle last year.

Older men preyed on immature teenagers who were plied with cocaine, cannabis, alcohol or mephedrone (M-Cat), then raped or persuaded into having sexual activity at parties known as 'sessions'.

The case raised huge controversy after a convicted rapist was paid almost £10,000 of taxpayers' money to spy on parties where under-age girls were intoxicated and sexually abused.

Northumbria Police launched a major investigation after receiving information from social workers and initially spoke to 108 potential victims. Over the course of four trials, 20 young women gave evidence covering a period from 2011 to 2014.

Shabir Ahmed was convicted of 30 child rape charges in Rochdale

Oxford - A group of men who abused teenage girls in a vehicle they called the 's**gwagon' were jailed for a total of nearly 90 years in June this year.

The men - aged 36 to 48 - befriended vulnerable girls as young as 13 before plying them drink and drugs at 'parties' in Oxford.

The eight men - branded 'predatory and cynical' by a judge - were jailed for between seven and a half and fifteen years each.

Bristol - Some 13 Somali men were jailed for more than a total of more than 100 years after they were convicted in 2014 of running an inner city sex ring.

Victims as young as 13 were preyed upon, sexually abused and trafficked across Bristol to be passed around the men's friends for money.

Aylesbury - Six men were jailed in 2015 for grooming vulnerable under-age white girls between 2006 and 2012.

The Old Bailey heard victims would be plied with alcohol and forced to perform sex acts for as little as 'the price of a McDonalds'.

Peterborough - A total of 10 men were convicted of child sex crimes in the town, including 'predatory' restaurant boss Mohammed Khubaib.

He was jailed for 13 years at the Old Bailey in 2015, after he was found guilty of forcing a 14-year-old girl to perform a sex act on him and nine counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation, involving girls aged from 12 to 15, between 2010 and 2013.

Telford - Earlier this year, Telford became the latest town to become the focus of the now sadly familiar stories of abuse.

A Sunday Mirror investigation concluded that around 1,000 children could have been sexually exploited in the Shropshire town over a 40-year period, leading to calls for a public inquiry.