PA Arshid Hussain, Basharat Hussain and Bannaras Hussain were among those found guilty

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Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, made the extraordinary intervention after brothers Arshid and Basharat Hussain were found guilty of multiple rapes and indecent assaults in the South Yorkshire town. The pair were two of eight people in trial over a string of horrific sex allegations. Their uncle, Qurban Ali, 53, was found guilty of conspiracy to rape whilst two Karen MacGregor, 58, and Shelley Davies, 40, were convicted of conspiracy to procure prostitutes and false imprisonment. Brothers Majid Bostan, 37 and Sajid Bostan, 38, were cleared of all charges at Sheffield Crown Court. A third brother, Bannaras Hussain, 36, admitted 10 charges including rape and indecent assault prior to the trial. During a harrowing two-month trial 15 brave victims told Sheffield Crown Court of the horrific sex abuse they suffered at the hands of their abusers, who were predominantly Pakistanis. And as the verdicts were given, the victims held hands in the public gallery overlooking the packed court.

PA Karen MacGregor, 58, and Shelley Davies, 40, were also found guilty

Some of the women who were abused by the gang watched the verdicts from the public gallery overlooking the packed court today, holding hands with each other. Afterwards one of the girls tweeted: "After 16 years I’ve finally heard those words.....GUILTY!!! Thank you everyone for your support." Arshid Hussain, 40, who claims to be paraplegic, appeared from his bed at home via video link and appeared to be asleep as the verdicts were handed down. Arshid's lawyers said he had been bed-ridden for the last two years following a shooting in 2005 which left him a paraplegic and he was allowed to follow the trial from his home via a video-link. One woman, who described how she suffered "horrible, awful, disgusting abuse" from Arshid in her early teens as she was sold for sex, told the court she was glad he got shot, calling it "karma". Basharat Hussain, 39, was surrounded by prison officers in the dock and was taken away along with MacGregor and Davies. Judge Sarah Wright said they will be sentenced on Friday. The jury of six men and six women has heard women describe how they were were targeted in their young teens and subjected to brutal treatment as they were passed around men who raped and beat them. Some described how they were trafficked, locked up, physically assaulted and threatened with death.

PA The trial took place at Sheffield Crown Court

One woman, now 33, described how her happy, normal childhood was transformed when she met Basharat and was subjected to what prosecutors described as a "terrible ordeal". The woman re-lived how she was taken to a Sheffield flat and tied up and blindfolded as a succession of men subjected her to sex acts. She explained how, on another occasion, she thought she was going to die when her hands and feet were tied and she had petrol poured over her. Another woman, now 36, explained to the jury how she was abused from the age of 11 with Arshid passing her on to his brother and friends, often as "payment" for debts. Prosecutors summarised her plight saying she was "beaten, had a cigarette stubbed out on her chest, tied up and raped ... from a very young age, often by numerous men, one after another, at the say so of Arshid Hussain". The girl said she was locked in Karen MacGregor's house for weeks and forced to have sex with a succession of Asian men. One of the most harrowing accounts came from a victim who described how she thought she was going to die when Basharat took her out to the Peak District and subjected her to two hours of verbal and physical abuse before knocking her to the ground, spitting on her and telling her to dig her own grave.

Getty Images Girls were tied up, beaten and burnt by the gang

Karen MacGregor was said to have played a particularly insidious role in the grooming of girls in Rotherham. Described in court as a "mother figure", she took in girls from children's homes, purporting to give them haven and support. But she allowed them to be abused and kept captive, telling them they needed to "earn their keep" by having sex with a succession of visiting men. One woman said: "It was like Hansel and Gretel living at Karen's. It was all nice and shiny and inviting and then it turned quite horrible." MacGregor denied she acted as pimp for the brothers, telling the jury: "I have not hurt anybody, I love everybody, animals and everything." She even set up a support group - Kin Kids - for family members looking after children whose parents could no longer cope. Kin Kids, which had the supported of Wentworth and Dearne MP John Healey, was due to be given charitable status when MacGregor was arrested.

Getty Images Girls in Rotherham were abused by men and 'passed around'

After 16 years I’ve finally heard those words.....GUILTY!!! One of the victims

South Yorkshire Police and Rotherham Council have faced savage criticism over their appalling handling of child sex abuse in Rotherham after an independent report revealed serious failings had led to 1,400 girls being abused over a long period. In particular they were blasted for pursuing a strict politically correct culture where officials were too scared to tackle the problem for fear of being racist. And speaking outside court Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, warned British Pakistanis against "burying our heads in the sand" over the problems of child abuse within the community. He said: "The sad reality is that in the case of on-street gang grooming, there is an over-representation of Pakistani men. "Until British Pakistanis accept that this is a problem for our community we will not be able to eradicate this evil. Burying our head in the sand as the usual response is not good enough."

Getty Images Some of the most vulnerable girls in the community were targeted and raped