A CHIEF prosecutor warned dangerous sexual predators they will be brought to justice as 12 men are held behind behind bars awaiting sentence for raping and exploiting a vulnerable Keighley schoolgirl.

Ten men were convicted yesterday of a total of 16 offences of raping the child after a five-week trial at Bradford Crown Court.

Another man had already pleaded guilty to five charges of rape, and a 63-year-old cab driver was convicted of having sex with the underage girl.

Three defendants were acquitted and walked free from the dock. Rohail Iqbal, 22, of Skipton Road, Beechcliffe, Keighley, Rohail Hussain, 18, of Hawk Street, Lawkholme, Keighley, and a 17-year-old youth who cannot be named, were found not guilty of the single allegation of rape that each faced.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC, cleared the public gallery partway through the verdicts after a disturbance broke out in the tense and packed courtroom.

The defendants were surrounded by 15 security staff and four police officers were standing by.

The guilty men were all remanded into custody to be sentenced on February 5, along with Khalid Mahmood, 34, who had earlier admitted five charges of rape, and is being held in Ashfield Prison, Gloucester.

Judge Thomas described some of those convicted as "insolent, arrogant and disrespectful," labelling their behaviour throughout the trial as the worst he had seen in 40 years of legal practice.

He told them they had “quite frankly treated these proceedings with a certain amount of contempt and arrogance”.

The girl was aged 13 to 14 when she was abused between May, 2011, and June, 2012.

The men found guilty by the jury are: Yasser Kabir, 25, of Belgrave Road, Keighley, who was found guilty of three charges of rape; Kabir's half-brother, Tauqeer, (also known as Toki), Hussain, 23, of Belgrave Road, Keighley, who was found guilty of three charges of rape - which included a second victim, a girl of 15.

Sufyan (Sufy) Ziarab, 22, of Kendal Mellor Court, Keighley, and his brother, Bilal (Billy or Browny) Ziarab, 21, of Sedgwick Close, Manningham, Bradford, who were found guilty of two rape charges.

Israr Ali (Sari), 19, of Devonshire Street West, Keighley; Nazir Khan (Khany) 23, of Buxton Street, Keighley; Faisal Khan (Buller) 27, of Buxton Street, Lawkholme, Keighley; Hussain Sardar (Dolly) 19, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley; Saqib Younis (Saqi Butcher) 29, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley, and Zain Ali (Droopy) 20, of Buxton Street, Keighley, who were convicted of one rape charge.

Cab driver Mohammed Akram, 63, of Holker Street, Keighley, was convicted of sexual activity with a child.

After the case, Peter Mann, head of the Complex Casework Unit at the Crown Prosecution Service in Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “These 12 men are responsible for a wide range of crimes involving child sexual exploitation and abuse.

"Their victims were young, naïve and vulnerable, and were deliberately targeted: one victim was systematically groomed; threatened, exploited and raped.

"A second victim was also threatened and raped by Tauqeer Hussain.

“These victims have shown immense courage and bravery in reporting these matters to the police and in providing evidence to enable us to bring a strong prosecution case.

“The jury have seen through the lies the defendants told in an effort to escape justice. This case sends out a very strong message to all those who may be hesitating about coming forward to report matters such as these. We will not tolerate this type abuse on our streets or in our communities. We will bring dangerous criminals who carry out acts of sexual violence against girls to justice.”