A CHILD sex gang who preyed on vulnerable young girls, abusing them on a ‘massive’ scale across the city, have been convicted.

The depraved grooming ring of eight men, described at Oxford Crown Court as ‘predatory and cynical’, were convicted on Friday by a jury of four women and seven men after a record breaking 107 hours and 31 minutes of deliberations over the course of 24 days.

During the five-month trial, which began on October 9, jurors have heard accounts from the five victims as well as recorded police interviews and testimonies from a number of the men, who each denied their part in the child sexual exploitation.

Judge Peter Ross, who presided over the trial, one of the biggest of its kind in Oxford, said once the final verdicts were handed out: "Systematic and widespread grooming, that is what this case has revealed.

"The investigation has involved countless hours of work and [the police] are entitled to commendations for the work they have done."

He also thanked jurors for their 'assiduous' and 'phenomenal' dedication to the case in returning their verdicts, which has become the longest jury deliberation in Oxford Crown Court history.

The lengthy trial ended with seven of the defendants being convicted – Raheem Ahmed, Moinul Islam, Kamran Khan, Kameer Iqbal, Khalid Hussain, Alladitta Yousaf and Assad Hussain – while one other who stood trial, Saboor Abdul, was acquitted of all charges.

An eighth man, Haji Khan was cleared of one count or rape and indedent assault, but convicted of one count of conspiracy to rape.

Two other men involved in the proceedings cannot be named for legal reasons.

The court has heard throughout the trial how the men on numerous occasions coerced the girls into sex at a number of addresses across Oxford including at guest houses, in cars, and at local parks.

The victims, none of whom can be named for legal reasons, were all from Oxford and aged between 13 and 15 at the time of the offences.

The abuse, which prosecutor Oliver Saxby QC called ‘routine, cynical and predatory sexual exploitation,’ all took place between 1998 and 2005.

Opening the trial in October, Mr Saxby told jurors: "Each of the young girls we are dealing with shared one very important characteristic, they were vulnerable.

“Perfect prey for, in the main, young men prepared to exploit them for casual sexual gratification that was easy, regular and readily available.”

During the trial one of the victims recounted how she would be pressured into sex at numerous locations across Oxford including at Shotover woods, at lay-bys outside the city and near Oxford City FC's ground Court Place Farm between February 1998 and February 2001.

She told jurors how Assad Hussain, Kameer Iqbal, Khalid Hussain and Alladitta Yousaf had all indecently assaulted or raped her on various occasions.

Another woman, who was aged 14 at the time, was sexually assaulted by Moinul Islam, the court heard, while at Cronin's B&B in Iffley Road.

She told police she recalled ‘feeling sick’ after the assault.

In other instances of abuse the girls were also plied with drink and drugs as part of what prosecutors called the ‘grooming process’ and took part in ‘sex parties’ at a number of addresses across Oxford involving large groups of men.

At one such party, which took place at a flat in London, one girl said that she was forced into sex with Khalid Hussain.

A number of the women also recalled a vehicle driven by the men regularly referred to as the ‘shag wagon’ with a licence plate ending ‘SHG’.

Many sexual abuses are alleged to have taken place inside the vehicle, including gang rapes.

One woman said of the vehicle, a black Nissan Serena people carrier: “They would pick the girls, have sex with them, and dump them.

“Everything happened in that Serena."

The same woman said that the men would ‘take it in turns’ to have sex with her and that gang rapes would take place after she was plied with booze and drugs.

One woman told police once investigations had begun in 2015 that she was ‘mind-f**d’ by the group during the ordeal of repeated rapes and sexual assaults.

She said: “[They] made you believe they actually care about you, and they actually don’t. Like you are something important to them, that you are a friend to them. And, really, it wasn’t that.

“It was just to get what they want. It took me some years to realise that.”

The men will be sentenced at the same court in June.

The charges in full:

Raheem Ahmed , 40, of Starwort Path, Oxford, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault and one count of false imprisonment. He was cleared of one count of rape

, 40, of Starwort Path, Oxford, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault and one count of false imprisonment. He was cleared of one count of rape Moinul Islam , 41, of Wykeham Crescent, Oxford, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault, one count of rape and one count of supplying cannabis to another. He was cleared of false imprisonment.

, 41, of Wykeham Crescent, Oxford, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault, one count of rape and one count of supplying cannabis to another. He was cleared of false imprisonment. Kamran Khan , of Northfield Road, Bolton, was convicted of indecent assault and false imprisonment. He was cleared of one count of rape.

, of Northfield Road, Bolton, was convicted of indecent assault and false imprisonment. He was cleared of one count of rape. Kameer Iqbal , 38, of Dashwood Road, Oxford, was convicted of three count of rape.

, 38, of Dashwood Road, Oxford, was convicted of three count of rape. Khalid Hussain , 37, of Ashhurst Way, Oxford, was convicted of one count of rape and count of indecent assault. He was cleared of another count of rape

, 37, of Ashhurst Way, Oxford, was convicted of one count of rape and count of indecent assault. He was cleared of another count of rape Alladitta Yousaf , 47, of Bodley Road, Oxford was convicted of one count of indecent assault.

, 47, of Bodley Road, Oxford was convicted of one count of indecent assault. Assad Hussain , 37, of Iffley Road, Oxford, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault, three counts of rape and two counts of conspiracy to rape. He was cleared of one count of indecent assault.

, 37, of Iffley Road, Oxford, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault, three counts of rape and two counts of conspiracy to rape. He was cleared of one count of indecent assault. Haji Khan, 37, of Littlegreen Lane, Birmingham, was cleared of one count of conspiracy to rape and one count of indecent assault. He is guilty of one count of conspiracy to rape.

In addition -

Saboor Abdul, 37, of Oxford Road, Cowley, one of only two defendants to take to the stand, was unanimously cleared of a single count of rape.