Twenty people have been jailed for a total of 227 years for their role in ‘depraved’ sexual abuse committed on girls as young as 12, police have said.

West Yorkshire Police said the offences were mostly committed in Dewsbury and Batley between 1995 and 2203 against three young girls - one of whom was just 12 years old when the abuse began.

Six separate trials took place as part of the legal process, starting in July 2023 and running until 2024.

The 19 men and one woman who were involved in the abuse have now been jailed and their identities can be revealed following a long and complex court case, which had reporting restrictions to protect the court process, police said.

Those convicted have received sentences up to 28 years, with one man alone convicted of 10 rapes.

They are:

Ansar Mahmood Qayum, age 49, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 10 years for three offences of rape and two offences of indecent assault. This sentence was added to an existing 20 sentence imposed on Qayum at court in a separate trial in another case in 2022, making a total sentence of 30 years
Sajid Majid, aged 53, from Mirfield , sentenced to 28 years for five offences of rape and three offences of indecent assault.
Manaf Hussain, aged 51, from Heckmondwike, sentenced to 25 years for six offences of rape and an offence of supplying Class A drugs.
Tariq Azam, aged 57, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 24 years for five offences of rape and four offences of indecent assault.
Zulfiqar Ali, aged 47, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 22 years, six months for four offences of rape.
Aurrangzeb Azam, aged 56 , from Dewsbury, sentenced to 20 years for ten offences of rape and an offence of indecent assault.
Shakeel Haq, aged 58, from Birmingham, sentenced to 19 years for three offences of rape and an offence of false imprisonment.
Rafiq Patel , aged 73, from Batley was sentenced to 18 years for two offences of rape.
Zaheed Ali Novsarka, aged 58, from Batley, sentenced to 18 years for two offences of rape.
Mohammed Sheikh, aged 53, from Batley, sentenced to 14 years for two offences of rape and two offences of indecent assault
Mohammed Yasin, aged 52, from Batley, sentenced to 14 years for an offence of rape and two indecent assaults.
Liaquat Hussain Hanif, aged 49, from Batley, sentenced to 12 years, six months for two offences of rape and an offence of supplying Class A drugs.
Ebrahim Mananiat, aged 56, from Batley, sentenced to 12 years for two offences of rape.
Ibrahim Khalifa, aged 87, from Bradford, sentenced to 11 years for two offences of rape.
Shafiq Siddique, aged 56, from Dewsbury, sentenced to 11 years for an offence of rape.
Mohammed Munir Shaffi, aged 48 from Dewsbury, sentenced to nine years for two offences of rape.
Mohammed Ishtiaq Hussain, aged 51, from Dewsbury, sentenced to eight years for an offence of rape.
Abbas Kaji, aged 57, from Batley, sentenced to seven years for an offence of rape.
Donna Lynn, aged 45, from Cleckheaton, sentenced to three years for an offence of controlling prostitution.
Tasawar Hussain, aged 46, from Dewsbury, sentenced to three years for an offence of rape.

Two other men were found by a court to have committed the acts they were charged with but were judged as unfit to enter pleas.

Twenty people have been jailed for a total of 277 years in a major investigation into sexual abuse committed against young girls in Kirklees. | WYP

placeholder image — Twenty people have been jailed for a total of 277 years in a major investigation into sexual abuse committed against young girls in Kirklees. | WYP

DCI Rob Stevens of Kirklees District Police said: “This has been a major investigation into truly appalling sexual abuse of vulnerable girls in Kirklees by a large number of sexual predators.

“Over an almost two year period, juries have heard some shocking revelations about the dreadful way victims were abused by those involved.

“They were repeatedly sexually assaulted, in some cases given Class A drugs, and very much treated as commodities for the gratification of heartless predators.

“The very significant jailed terms given to some of these men, such as the 28-year sentence for Sajid Majid or the 20 year sentence handed to Aurrangzeb Azam who was found guilty of 10 separate rapes, speak volumes about their depravity and the abuse meted out to victims in this case.

He added: “Again, it cannot be stressed more highly that the reason this dreadful offending came to light was the courage of victims who have come forward and reported the offending they were subjected to. Every possible effort is made at West Yorkshire Police to support victims of sexual abuse, but we realise how difficult making reports and then supporting prosecutions can be.

“These women showed enormous bravery in giving evidence in lengthy trials and I hope they can feel a sense of pride in the determination they have displayed to see justice done, and in seeing people who have no place in society being put behind bars.”