Rotherham victim: Now my life can finally begin

Brothers (from left) Arshid Hussain, Basharat Hussain and Bannaras Hussain, who have been found guilty of a range of offences involving the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Rotherham.

Rotherham became a byword for the exploitation of teenage girls and the failure of police and social workers to stop it happening with the publication of the Jay Report in August 2014.

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Karen MacGregor, 58, (left) and Shelley Davies, 40

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One victim of the Rotherham gang said going through with the investigation was one of the hardest things she had ever done, “but it is so worth it”.

She hoped her experience would give others the resolve to come forward and put more child abusers behind bars.

The woman was just 14 when she was groomed and came to fear for her life at the hands of controlling and violent Arshid Hussain.

He preyed on the teenager after meeting her at a party in the late 1990s, and would wait for her outside school.

Soon he was having sex with her, despite knowing her age and being a decade older.

The victim, who cannot be identified but who is referred to as “Jessica”, said: “It has been 16 years we have waited for this.

“It has not sunk in yet.

“This can give me some closure, for me my life starts now.

“It has been such a mess, I can finally move on.

“The investigation started two-and-a-half years ago and it has been one of the hardest things I have had to do, but it is so worth it.

“It’s an emotional rollercoaster.

“I think a lot of people will come forward now, and think ‘if they can get justice after nearly two decades, so can I’.”

Earlier, Jessica told the BBC: “Very quickly he started being controlling.

“I wasn’t allowed to do anything without his permission.

“He isolated me from friends and family and it became the only person in my world was him.

“He was very violent towards me.

“There were times when I thought he was going to kill me.”

ROTHERHAM CHARGES AND CONVICTIONS IN FULL

• Arshid Hussain, 40, of High Street, East Cowick, Goole, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to rape, 11 indecent assaults, one rape, one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sex with another, one count of false imprisonment, two counts of procuring a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute, one count of attempting to procure a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse, one count of abducting a 15-year-old girl, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of aiding and abetting rape and one of aiding and abetting another serious sexual assault.

He was cleared of four rapes and one serious sexual assault.

• Basharat Hussain, 39, of no fixed address, was convicted of one rape, five indecent assaults, one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another, false imprisonment, three counts of indecency with a child, one count of procuring a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute, two assaults occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of making threats to kill.

• Qurban Ali, 53, of Clough Road, Rotherham, was convicted of conspiracy to rape. He was cleared of one count each of indecent assault, rape and procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another.

• Karen MacGregor, 58, of Barnsley Road, Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire, and Rotherham, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to procure a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute, false imprisonment and and two counts of conspiracy to rape.

• Shelley Davies, 40, of Wainwright Road, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to procure a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute and false imprisonment and conspiracy to rape. During the course of the trial, Davies was cleared of a charge of conspiracy to rape.

• Majid Bostan, 37, of Ledsham Road, Broom, Rotherham, was cleared of one indecent assault.

• Sajid Bostan, 38, of Broom Avenue, Broom, Rotherham, was cleared of three rapes, two counts of aiding and abetting rape, one indecent assault and one other serious sexual assault.

• Before the trial Bannaras Hussain, 36, of Goole, admitted 10 charges - two rapes, six indecent assaults, an assault occasioning actual bodily harm and procuring a woman to be a prostitute. He denied a further count of rape which will lie on file.