In 2012, nine men were conviction of nine men for offences including rape and human trafficking on girls as young as 13 between 2005 and 2008 they was sentenced to 77 Years in the 1st Rochdale child sexual exploitation case by an all Asian Sex Gang. Their actions caused immense suffering to their victims, who were young and vulnerable girls that continue to this day.
- Qari Abdul Rauf, 43, of Darley Road, Rochdale
- Sentence: 6 years in prison for conspiracy and 6 years concurrently for trafficking.
Taxi driver and Muslim preacher Abdul Rauf, of Darley Road, Rochdale, was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child. Like some of his co-defendants, he opted to ‘affirm’ that he would tell the truth – rather than swear on the Koran in court.
The father-of five worked as a qari, reading the Koran for the congregation at Rochdale’s Bilal mosque. He claimed to be deeply religious and insisted in court that he only left the post to earn a better wage for his growing family. In fact, he was sacked by the mosque because of poor time-keeping. Mosque leaders denied he had been removed because of allegations he had abused children.
In court, he was constantly praying under his breath in the dock, to the annoyance of his co-defendants, one of whom punched him. He wept when he admitted having sex with a girl in his VW Sharan taxi. It had been a ‘big mistake’, he said, claiming the girl looked ‘maybe 30’. Another girl, the prosecution’s main witness, told the jury she had sex with Rauf 20 or 30 times.
Under cross-examination he appeared to feign a collapse. He was jailed for six years after being convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/rochdale-grooming-sick-paedo-gang-31882223