Four members of a gang which plied vulnerable women and girls with drugs before forcing them to have sex, have been jailed for almost half a century.
A group of 17 men and one woman have been convicted of using mephedrone to turn abuse victims into addicts, and forcing them to have sex if they wanted more drugs.
At Newcastle Crown Court today Habibur Rahim, 34, was jailed for 29 years, Abdul Sabe, 40, was jailed for 12 years, Badrul Hussain, 37, was jailed for four years and Mohibur Rahman, 44, was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
The judge said the offences involved ‘sustained and systematic psychological abuse’ and was forced to tell the men in the dock to stop yawning, fidgeting and talking during the hearing.
Habibur Rahim, 34, (left) was jailed for 29 years and Mohibur Rahman, 44, (right) was jailed for four-and-a-half years
Abdul Sabe, 40, was jailed for 12 years (left) and Badrul Hussain, 37, was jailed for four years (right)
They were part of a network of nearly 40 men, including Pakistani, Indian, Iranian, Iraqi, Bangladeshi and Turkish nationals, who preyed on around 100 girls.
Prosecutor John Elvidge QC told the court the victims were given almost unlimited access to the drug MCAT and alcohol, initially for free, but then expected or forced to engage in sexual acts.
Mr Elvidge said: ‘The young women being exploited sometimes consented to sexual activity, sometimes they did not consent and sometimes they were incapable of consenting.’
Mr Elvidge has told the court the victims were ‘white, British and female’ and the defendants were ‘of Asian extraction, born in the UK but some born abroad’.
However, Mr Elvidge said there was no direct evidence that race played a part in the gang’s selection process of victims.
He added that ‘vulnerablilty and availability’ were the most likely criteria.
The court heard after his arrest, one of the men told detectives: ‘you can’t control your white kids, that’s what I see in this country’.
One victim of the gang’s offending said in her impact statement: ‘I am very wary of being in any situation where I will be alone with an Asian man.
‘This is because it was all Asian men involved in the offending. This is not about race.
‘I would he happy to be alone with an Asian female. I worry an Asian man could be linked to the offenders and what they are thinking when they look at me.’
The court heard other victims have described being treated ‘like a piece of meat’, being laughed at by their attackers and feeling suicidal because of their ordeals.
One woman now sleeps with a knife by her bed and wakes up screaming.
Another said she lives with a feeling of guilt that she did not speak out about what happened to her sooner
She said in her statement: ‘I have a lot of guilt because I think I could have stopped this if I had spoken out earlier.’
The same woman also said: ‘I hope our case makes people realise they can speak out and they can be helped.’
Abdul Sabe, 40 (pictured outside court in July), has been jailed for four years. Mr Elvidge said Sabe’s role in the conspiracy was to ‘source premises, provide drugs and girls’
Sex gang: (Top row left to right) Abdul Sabe, Habibur Rahim, Badrul Hussain, Abdulhamid Minoyee, Jahanger Zaman, Monjur Choudhury, (middle row left to right) Taherul Alam, Hassan Ali, Nadeem Aslam, Mohammed Azram, Yassar Hussain, Saiful Islam, (bottom row left to right) Eisa Mousavi, Prabhat Nelli, Mohibur Rahman, Nashir Uddin, Redwan Siddquee and Carolann Gallon
Another victim said the men displayed an attitude that they were ‘superior to women’ and that they acted as if the victims ‘didn’t have the same rights as the men’.
Judge Penny Moreland said she was satisfied the offending was not motivated by race.
The judge said the women were selected because they were ‘young, impressionable, naive and vulnerable’ members of society.
Judge Moreland said there was no evidence that the gang had shown hostility towards any of the victims based on their race or that their offending was motivated by race.
Married father-of-two Habibur Rahim, 34, has been convicted of two counts of supply of cannabis, conspiracy to traffic for sexual exploitation, two counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation, four counts of supply of Mcat, rape, human trafficking and conspiracy to incite prostitution for gain.
Mr Elvidge said Rahim’s role in the sex plot was to ‘provide girls, drugs and engage in sexual activity’.
He added that Rahim was a ‘prolific offender’ and warned: ‘The evidence demonstrated he is a clear danger to young women.’
The court heard Rahim would transport girls across the city in his black Mitsubishi shogun.
He raped one woman while she was sleeping off the effects of MCat, who thought he was a ‘friend’ in a bedroom where he had pushed a wardrobe up against the door.
He exploited another young victim who he found walking around the streets in tears after losing her job and home.
The court heard his wife left him as a result of his behaviour.
Jailing him for 29 years, with lifelong sex offender registration and sexual harm prevention order, the judge said he had been a high profile and active member of the group and had engaged in ‘sustained and systematic abuse’.
Teenagers were plied with drugs (pictured by police) and alcohol and then raped or persuaded into engaging in sexual activity with older men
Abdul Sabe, 40, has been convicted of two counts of supply of cannabis, conspiracy to commit sexual assault, conspiracy to traffic for sexual exploitation, two counts of offering to supply cannabis, possession of cannabis and conspiracy to incite prostitution for gain.
Mr Elvidge said Sabe’s role in the conspiracy was to ‘source premises, provide drugs and girls’.
The court heard Sabe was on the sex offenders register for five years from 2007 after being convicted of masturbating towards women in the street.
He was warned by police about having contact with vulnerable teen girls and even shown a picture by a detective of one of the youngsters in school uniform to reinforce how vulnerable she was.
Sabe lost both of his parents at a young age and the court heard he was ‘living hand to mouth’ at the time of the offences.
Judge Moreland sentenced him to a total of 12 years behind bars with lifelong registration as a sex offender and sexual harm prevention order.
Carolann Gallon, known to her friends as ‘Chucky’, is the only female member of the gang and was responsible for luring other girls into their clutches
Badrul Hussain, 37, was found guilty of supply of Mcat and three counts of permitting premises to be used for the supply of cocaine.
The court heard Hussain knew girls ‘at risk of sexual harm’ were being given drugs and abused in his home.
His reasons for offending may have been to gain ‘popularity’ and the court heard he made no financial gain from it.
The court heard he ‘bitterly regrets’ any involvement in what happened.
He was sentenced to four years behind bars.
Mohibur Rahman, 44, has been convicted of two counts of supply of Mcat, two counts of permitting premises to be used for the supply of Mcat and conspiracy to incite prostitution for gain.
Shafiq Aziz was earlier jailed for 15 years for drugs offences involving heroin and crack cocaine
The court heard he ‘hosted’ sessions where girls were given drugs and exploited.
His role was to provide ‘premises and drugs’.
The court heard one visitor to his home, who has never been identified, was recorded in mobile phone by her own worried father, in an intoxicated state, saying ‘why do they always want to hurt me, why do they rape?’
The woman also said ‘loads of girls go there, they give b*** **bs for mcat’.
When Rahman was arrested he told police ‘you can’t control your white girls, that’s what I see in this country’.
After a previous arrest, for unrelated offending, he called custody staff ‘white b***ards’ and said one officer was a ‘white wh**e’, a ‘white s**g’ and threatened to cut her throat.
He is currently serving a 12 year prison sentence for violence which involved him stabbing someone.
Kate Dodds, defending, said Rahman had made ‘unhelpful observations’ during interview while ‘under pressure’
Miss Dodds said the previous abuse towards custody staff was also while he was under pressure.
She added: ‘It does not ranslate to allow the court to say that, even his case, his involvement in the conspiracy, his motivation and attitude towards the complainants, was in any way driven by concerns of race. ‘
Judge Moreland sentenced him to four and a half years bars, to be served after he has completed the 12 year term.