Gangs raping and sexually exploiting vulnerable white young girls 'is an Asian problem', top Crown prosecutor admits

After a spate of cases Nazir Afzal says it is impossible not to notice 'that the perpetrators were Asian and the victims were not'

In the last year several gangs have been prosecuted for targeting young, vulnerable white girls and abusing them

Home Affairs Select Committee to take evidence on the issue next week after urgent hearing called



Stand: Crown chief prosecutor for the north west Nazir Afzal, pictured, has admitted the exploitation of white girls is an 'Asian problem'

The sexual exploitation and grooming of young vulnerable white girls is a 'particular problem in Asian communities', one of Britain's top prosecutors admitted for the first time today.

In a year when several paedophile gangs were convicted of raping and prostituting victims in north west England, Nazir Afzal says it is impossible not to notice 'that the perpetrators were Asian and the victims were not.'

The Chief Crown Prosecutor for the region added that 'cultural baggage and the status of women among some men in these communities contributes to their disrespect for the rights of women.'

It was claimed last month that fears they would be branded racist meant that police and social services left one group free to rape up to 50 white girls, and Mr Afzal said today he would not 'turn a blind eye.'

It came as the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee announced yesterday a day of evidence next week because its members and chairman Keith Vaz are 'very concerned by the recent cases of child exploitation.'

The Labour MP for Leicester East has previously said: 'I do not think it is a race issue.'

In these disturbing recent cases most victims were white, aged between 13 and 16, many were from vulnerable backgrounds or the care system, and the majority were plied with booze and drugs before being systematically abused.

Speaking to The Times today Mr Afzal said: 'Exploitation happens in every community but these cases demonstrate that group grooming is a particular problem in Asian community. I will not turn a blind eye to crimes in any community.'

He spoke out as two Asian men, Mahfuzur Rahman and Abdul Hannan, were convicted of raping or sexually assaulting four young white women in their area after they picked them up and got them drunk.

In an originally botched prosecution in 2009, victims gave detailed evidence about being violently raped by Rahman before charges were dropped because evidence was said to lack credibility.

Once the case was abandoned, Rahman was free to target a 17-year-old from a nearby children's home, plying her with vodka before sexually assaulting her at his flat.

His other victims were also violently raped or assaulted while very drunk.

Disgusting In the Rochdale case the abuse began at two takeaways in the Heywood area, including the Balti House (pictured), which is under new ownership

And when he was finally arrested and charged with rape again last year individuals close to the case said Rahman told officers: 'Rape? Which one?'

While last month a sex grooming gang of nine were all jailed, and two set to be deported, after they plied teenagers with alcohol before abusing them in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.



The men - who are all from Pakistan, apart from one who is from Afghanistan - groomed and 'shared' the young white girls because they were vulnerable, and abused them above takeaways and shops.

But during the trial it came out that the authorities could have stopped them two years before their sickening crimes were finally uncovered.

In an interview with MailOnline last month Former Labour MP for Keighley Ann Cryer, who has campaigned on the issue of Asian sex gangs and also preventing forced marriage, said that the authorities did ignore complaints in this case because they were 'petrified of being called racist'.

'Forces have been accused of being institutionally racist. That sort of thing sticks,' she added.



'If you do say things like that about any police force then they will be majorly careful to avoid being being put in line for criticism like that. It may well be that they then steer clear of the tragic events that we are talking about. All because they want to be politically correct.'

I was kept prisoner by the Asian sex gang predator: Victim tells harrowing story of 'boyfriend' who dubbed his car the 'Rape Rover'

Trophy: Victim Toni-Marie Redfern was initially flattered by the attention she received from Abid Mohammed Saddique but was then kept prisoner by them

Pretty teenager Toni-Marie Redfern thought she’d found the perfect boyfriend. Polite, handsome, and seven years her senior, he drove a silver BMW, wore designer suits and bought her dinner at her favourite pizza café.

No wonder her schoolfriends were envious. And when he asked her to marry him, she started to make plans for their future.

Yet Toni-Marie eventually learned the truth about Abid Mohammed Saddique.



While they were going out, the British-born man of Pakistani origin was orchestrating what is believed to be the biggest sex-abuse ring ever discovered in Britain, involving up to 100 young girls.

Last year, Saddique and his accomplice, Mohammed Liaqat, whose Derby-based gang groomed girls (most of whom were white and aged between 12 and 18) for sex, were jailed for bringing a ‘reign of terror’ to the North Midlands city.

A court heard how the pair — who had undergone arranged marriages in Pakistan — cruised the streets in a BMW or a Range Rover, which Saddique referred to as the ‘Rape Rover’.



Girls were ‘chatted up’ on the street and invited for drives, during which they were plied with vodka or cocaine before being taken to hotel rooms, parks or houses to be abused. Key to the men’s conviction was Toni-Marie, now 20, who bravely gave evidence against her ex-lover.

‘When I discovered what he had done to those girls, I felt physically sick. He was the puppet master and all his mates were his puppets. Everyone did whatever he told them to do,' she said.

‘I was a white girl who he wanted to control and prove that he could convert to Islam. I saw him and the gang tell non-Muslim girls they were “slags”. I believe it was the religion and culture of these men that made them act like that.