Rotherham man jailed for abduction and trafficking teenage girls

Iranian asylum seeker Vejahuin Ghorbani, 37, approached the girls, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as they were playing in a park in Rotherham.

Ghorbani tried to encourage the girls to come back to his home, and while one of the girls allegedly agreed to go with him, another told police she was shoved into the car by Ghorbani.

After taking the girls back to his flat, Ghorbani plied the youngsters with drink, with one of the girls drinking so much it made her sick.

Trapping them inside the flat, he constantly made sexual references and allegedly offered to pay the eldest girl £20. He also told her that he wanted to “make babies” with her.

The girls managed to escape the next morning after the eldest girl found Ghorbani’s keys while he slept.

They were found by police walking about towards their homes at around 7am.

Police then used directions given by the girls to trace Ghorbani back to his flat.

Officers who searched Ghorbani’s flat found evidence of vodka and cider in the property as well as finding a pair of underpants belonging to the eldest girl on the bathroom floor, although they couldn’t find any DNA evidence that linked Ghorbani to any sexual activity with the girl.

Ghorbani was then identified by all three girls in a police line-up.

Sentencing Ghorbani to three years in prison at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Michael Murphy said: “There was no sexual behaviour towards these young girls in the sense of active touching or worse, but you took three very young children to your house, plied them with drink and made verbal sexual advances to them.

“Whatever they said and whatever they did doesn’t hide the fact that they were very young children and needed protection from someone like yourself.

“I no longer have the powers to issue a deportation order but I seriously hope those that have do so and remove you from this country at the earliest possible chance.”

Judge Murphy also enforced a £120 victim surcharge on Ghorbani, who pleaded guilty to two counts of abduction and one count of trafficking for sexual exploitation on three girls aged between 11 and 13.