Sex ring of 14 men convicted for abuse of teenage girls

Fourteen Somali men have been convicted of running a sex ring that involved the abuse, rape and prostitution of teenage British girls, it can be reported for the first time.

Victims as young as 13 were preyed upon, sexually abused and passed around the men’s friends for money in Bristol.

Several of the girls were groomed to the extent they believed abuse was part of loving relationships they were having with the defendants.

The Bristol case comes after allegations, convictions and resignations over organised child abuse and exploitation across English towns and cities including Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and Telford.

Avon and Somerset Police uncovered a two-year catalogue of abuse against 10 girls during their investigation into the men, codenamed Operation Brooke.

A total of 14 were convicted of charges including rape, sexual activity with a child, facilitating child prostitution, trafficking, paying for the sexual services of a child and drug offences.

Defendants were tried in two separate trials at Bristol Crown Court this year, with eight jailed for between 18 months and 13 years following the first this summer.

The remaining seven, convicted by a jury yesterday following 32 hours and 17 minutes of deliberations, will be sentenced at the court tomorrow.

The first trial centred on a group of Somali drug dealers based in Easton, Bristol and their exploitation of primarily one teenage girl.

She had been moved into a flat on her own in Bristol and left almost unsupervised by social workers from outside the city.

Liban Abdi, (21), Mustapha Farah, (21), Arafat Osman, (20), Idleh Osman, (22), Abdulahi Aden, (20), Said Zakaria, (22), Mustafa Deria, (22), and Deria’s cousin Mohamed Jama, (20), were all jailed for between 18 months and 13 years for either child sexual exploitation or drugs offences.

The second trial focused on another group of young Somali men – but included Zakaria, whose nickname was ‘Target’ – and their grooming and subsequent sexual abuse of young girls in Bristol.

Mohamed Jumale, (24), Mohamed Dahir, (22), Zakaria, Jusuf Abdizirak, (20), Omar Jumale, (20), Abdirashid Abdulahi, (21) and Sakariah Sheik, (21), were all convicted of child sexual exploitation offences.

Judge Julian Lambert will sentence the seven defendants for the 20 charges they were convicted of, relating to four victims, tomorrow.

Two defendants, Jibril Mohamed, (21), and Dauud Osman, (19), were acquitted of the charges they faced.

The case can only be reported for the first time today because restrictions placed upon the media were lifted at the conclusion of the second trial.

Detective Inspector Gary Stephens, who led the investigation, said: “They were aged between 13 and 17 at the time of the offences. Not all the victims knew each other but some had heard of each other. Some of the victims were being ‘passed around’ by the defendants and taken to venues specifically to be sexually exploited, sometimes for money.”

Chief Superintendent Julian Moss, head of Avon and Somerset Police’s CID department, said the 10 victims are all now being supported by specialist teams in Bristol. “I’d like to stress how important it is to remember that such vulnerable victims often don’t realise they’re being abused and don’t recognise the signs of abuse,” he said. “Some of the victims in the second trial believed they were in ‘relationships’ with the defendants, adding to the complexity of their vulnerability. The victims showed remarkable courage in giving evidence at this trial.”