Peterborough man jailed for 13 years for child sex crimes

‘Predatory’ restaurant boss Mohammed Khubaib convicted of forcing 14-year-old girl to perform sex act and nine counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation

15 May 2015 14.14 BST

A restaurant boss has been jailed for 13 years after becoming the last of a string of men to be convicted of child sex crimes in Peterborough.

Businessman Mohammed Khubaib, 43, who is married with five children and originally from Pakistan, had a “persistent and almost predatory interest” in teenage girls, the Old Bailey heard.

He groomed vulnerable underage girls by giving them money, gifts or cigarettes before plying them with alcohol.

After a trial, he was found guilty of forcing a 14-year-old girl to perform a sex act on him and nine counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation, involving girls aged 12 to 15, between November 2010 and January 2013.

On Friday, Judge Peter Rook QC sentenced Khubaib to 13 years in jail for rape, extended for five years on licence. For each of the trafficking offences, he sentenced him to either four or two years, all to run concurrently. Rook also imposed a sexual harm prevention order and disqualified him from working with children for life, saying he clearly posed a danger to girls and young women.

Rook told Khubaib: “Your actions have had a profound effect on these young girls. Some have lost trust in people and ended self-confidence, self-esteem as a result of your conduct. You targeted these young girls because they were vulnerable and you were seeking opportunities for your own sexual gratification. You knew these girls wanted alcohol and transport. You knew they were young and immature and at their age they didn’t know any better.

“No doubt you felt you were untouchable as you took the view there was no risk these girls would ever give evidence about these activities.” He said in fact they had shown great courage in giving evidence.

Many of Khubaib’s victims were in court to see him sentenced at the Old Bailey. The judge said: “You showed no remorse, no acknowledgement whatsoever as to the effect of your predatory conduct. Society is now far more aware than it was in the past of the serious psychological harm that such behaviour as yours can cause.”

Earlier, the court heard how Khubaib still did not accept his guilt. But as a result of the case, his licences to run a restaurant and letting agency had been revoked by the council and both businesses subsequently failed.

Khubaib is the 10th man to be convicted under Operation Erle, a multi-agency investigation into child sex crimes in Peterborough launched after the Rotherham and Rochdale child abuse cases.

The court had heard that Khubaib’s activities in Peterborough involved girls being befriended and then “hooked” with alcohol, normally vodka, in an attempt to make them compliant to sexual advances. Khubaib, who lived in the city with his wife and children, would pursue his interest “away from his home and family”, using his restaurant as a “focal point”.

Mark Dennis QC, prosecuting, said the girls were vulnerable because of their age, background, circumstances or unsettled schooling and Khubaib pretended to be their friend and helper. Khubaib, who also ran a lettings agency, would drive girls to flats and, once there, they would be groomed for sex by being “plied with alcohol and entertained by himself and his friends”.

He raped a 14-year-old girl in August 2007 by forcing her to perform oral sex on him after she was given alcohol and then “rewarded” with £5, the court heard.

The defendant would buy one girl and her friends McDonald’s meals and tobacco, as well as giving her small sums of money and a £40 bunch of flowers for her 15th birthday, the court heard. He told the girl he wanted her to be his wife, saying that he would “choose her over everyone else”, while he told another 15-year-old she had beautiful eyes, the jury was told. When she rebuffed him, saying he was too old for her, he was said to have replied: “Age doesn’t matter.”

Khubaib offered another girl £60, telling her: “You make me happy, I’ll give you money.” Two weeks later he increased the offer to £90, the court heard. The girl refused.

In January 2013, Khubaib picked up two girls– one aged 12 and the other aged 14 – in his car and took them to a McDonald’s, Dennis said. The girls became uncomfortable when Khubaib got into a row on his phone and slipped away. Later that month, he was arrested at a terraced house in Peterborough, where police found two girls aged 14.

Khubaib said in police interviews that his association with all the girls was innocent and he had not acted in an improper way, denying any sexual contact with his rape victim.

Four previous cases led to nine male defendants being jailed for 59 offences against 15 girls, who were mostly from Peterborough, with two from Lincolnshire and Rutland.

After Friday’s sentencing, Wendi Ogle-Welbourn, of Peterborough city council, said: “We are pleased with this sentence today as it represents justice for the girls and young women who suffered at the hands of this vicious criminal.

“As we did a month ago, when we got the original verdict, we would like to pay tribute to the girls and young women who so bravely took the witness stand and gave evidence. Their courage in reliving some absolutely horrendous experiences at the hands of this criminal has enabled us to get the result we did today and means that other girls and young women are safer in our city.”

D S Gary Ridgway, of Cambridgeshire police, said: “The sentence passed today shows just how serious this type of offence is and that, if we work together, agencies can achieve really good outcomes. Once again, this represents justice for young people who had the courage to stand up in court and relive some very difficult experiences. Without this, we could not have achieved this result.

“This is another example of how determined we are to tackle sexual exploitation of the vulnerable and will continue to work with social care agencies to identify those at risk and keep them safe from harm.”

Peterborough man jailed for 13 years for child sex crimes | Crime | The Guardian