Eight members of an Asian sex gang who were jailed for a total of 257 years for raping girls as young as 11 have been told they can appeal their convictions or sentences.
Last October, 20 sex abusers were jailed for attacks on at least 15 vulnerable girls in Huddersfield between 2004 and 2011.
Just a month later, 17 members of the gang launched appeals – including one man who is believed to be on the run, and the ringleader who has a life sentence – before a further member appealed more recently.
A Court of Appeal judge has approved the first stage of the appeal process for many of the gang members convicted in the original trial, reports Examiner Live.
They will now have their cases referred to the full court, where three judges will decide whether to grant or refuse them leave to appeal.
Amere Singh Dhaliwal (left) and Irfan Ahmed (right) have had the first stage of their appeal process approved. They were part of a gang that abused at least 15 vulnerable girls in Huddersfield between 2004 and 2011
In total, eight members of the gang have had the first stage of their appeals approved. They will now have their cases referred to the full court, where three judges will decide whether to grant or refuse them leave to appeal. Pictured: Zahid Hassan (left) and Mohammed Kammer (right)
The Court of Appeal judge rejected most of the appeals made by those convicted in the second trial, except Manzoor Hassan, known as Big Manny, whose application is still being processed.
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’.
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, 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.
Dhaliwal is one of the eight members who has had his appeal referred to the full court.
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.
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. Pictured: Mohammed Rizwan Aslam (left) and Abdul Rehman (right)
At least one of the victims attempted suicide and another had to have an abortion after becoming pregnant. Pictured: Raj Singh Barsran (left) and Nahman Mohammed (right)
Hussain’s appeal application was rejected.
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’.