Sex-trafficking-gang-guilty-trafficking-13-year-old-forcing-sleep-men-hotel-rooms-homes.html

Five men have been found guilty of trafficking 13-year-old girl from Sheffield
Shakeal Rehman, 26, was jailed for 12 years for raping the young girl
Mohammed Shapal, Yaseen Amini and Usman Ali guilty of sexual activity
Bekir Rasheed was handed a four year jail term for trafficking the girl
Victim had run away from home and was said to be 'completely vulnerable'
One man said to have described her as 'gorgeous' and 'a nice, beautiful girl'

Published: 18:14 GMT, 2 October 2014 | Updated: 08:42 GMT, 3 October 2014

Five men have been jailed for a total of 28-and-a-half years for trafficking a 13-year-old girl and forcing her to sleep with men in hotel rooms.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was told she was a 'nice, beautiful girl' before being coerced into having sex with the men in August last year, a court heard.

A jury unanimously found Shakeal Rehman, 26 and Mohammed Shapal, 22, from Bradford, guilty of trafficking along with Yaseen Amini, 36, and Bekir Rasheed, 36, at Sheffield Crown Court today.

Shakeal Rehman, 26, from Bradford, (left) was found guilty of rape and Yaseen Amini, 36, (middle) and Mohammed Shapal, 22, were convicted of engaging in sexual activity with a child

Usman Ali, 21, (left) was also found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with the young girl and Bekir Rasheed, 36, (right) along with the other men were convited of trafficking at Sheffield Crown Court

Rehman was sentenced to 12 years after being found guilty of rape, while Shapal was given four years for engaging in sexual activity with a child.

Amini was given five-and-a-half years and a fifth man, Usman Ali, was jailed for three years after they were also found guilty of abusing the 13-year-old.

Yaseen Rasheed wept as he was jailed for four years for trafficking.

The girl revealed graphic details of the sexual assaults during the trial, saying she frequently cried and asked the men 'why are you doing this to me?'

She had just turned 13 when she took a bus from her home town of Sheffield to Bradford, where she was befriended by the men, who are not all known to one another, the court heard.

The young girl told police that she had previously been to Bradford in June of last year to visit a former boyfriend, after which her father had told her he 'swore he would kill her' if she 'did it again'.

Rehman held the girl around the neck so she could not breathe and raped her and Ali, 21, (below) was also found guilty of abusing her

Sheffield Crown Court heard that when the girl was interviewed by police, she worried about getting into trouble, and was embarrassed to disclose embarrassing information to adults she had never met before

Two months later, she decided to run away from home as she was 'scared of her mum and dad', and when a neighbour wouldn't take her in, she decided to go and visit her said boyfriend.

She enlisted the help of a taxi driver, who allowed her to stay with him for the night, before he took her to Sheffield bus station the following day where she boarded a bus to Bradford.

The 13-year-old said she began wandering around the city centre and approached a Kurdish man who she was later told was called 'Shaz'.

The man is currently wanted by police for questioning about the exploitation.

Bekir Rasheed, 36, (top) from Sheffield and Yaseen Amini, 36, (bottom) have been found guilty of trafficking a 13-year-old girl and forcing her to sleep with men in hotel rooms

She was then allegedly taken to his home in Bradford and spent two nights there.

It was then that while wandering the streets she was picked up in a car by Rehman and Shapal, who referred to himself as 'Baby'.

Prosecutor Thomas Storey said: 'What you're dealing with is a completely vulnerable and, in all probability, a psychologically damaged young girl who was taken advantage of by these five defendants when she ran away from home in August of last year.

Shapal, 22, from Bradford, met the 13-year-old in Sheffield city centre and had told her she was 'gorgeous'

'She was taken to the places named by the defendants with the clear intention that sexual activity would take place, and there was no reasonable basis for any of them to think she was over 16.

'After driving around with her for a while they took her to a hotel for the night with the intention of some sexual activity taking place.

'Once she was at the hotel she was raped by Rehman.

'He held her around the neck so she could not breathe and raped her.

'He left the room and was replaced a little later by Shapal, who spent the night with her.

'During the night he too entered into sexual activity with her.

'The next day, having been abandoned, she was picked up by Ali in his car. He drove her a short distance before he too had sexual intercourse with her in his vehicle.

'A number of days later she was taken by Rasheed to a party at Amini's home.

During her time in Bradford, the girl was bought presents by the men she came into contact with, including a pair of shoes from Primark, a bracelet and an ankle bracelet.

The court also heard evidence from Shapal, who said the teenager had told him she was 16 and pleaded with him to stay the night with her.

'On the way to get food, she was asking if I would stay with her the night,' he said.

'She kept on pleading and pleading with me to stay.'

He said the girl told him she had arrived in Bradford to meet her boyfriend, but he'd stood her up and she was in the city on her own.

He claimed she also told him she'd previously lost a baby.

'I felt sorry for her,' he said. 'I didn't want to leave her in such a state.

She didn't know anyone so I said I would stay the night.'

Shapal told the jury he had no intention of anything sexual happening, but then they got into bed and started kissing and cuddling.

'She looked me in the eyes and said, 'I love you, I want to get married to you, I want to have a baby with you', he said.

'I thought it was a bit strange - I didn't really know her.'

The court heard that when the girl was interviewed by police, she worried about getting into trouble, and was embarrassed to disclose embarrassing information to adults she had never met before.

Asked by officers: 'What do you think of these people now?' she replied: 'I want to forget them'.