On Friday, June 13, 2025, seven men were found guilty of a harrowing series of historic sexual offences after grooming and abusing two vulnerable teenage girls in Rochdale. The men, who operated between 2001 and 2006, subjected the girls to years of exploitation, treating them as "sex slaves" and forcing them to have sex "whenever and wherever" they were demanded. The verdicts came after a lengthy and complex trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court that lasted approximately four months, followed by three weeks of jury deliberation.
The victims, known only as Girl A and Girl B to protect their identities, were groomed from the age of 13. Both endured appalling abuse in a variety of grim locations, including filthy flats, rancid mattresses, cars, car parks, alleyways, disused warehouses, and even moors. The court heard that the men plied the girls with drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes and provided places to stay and people to be with, exploiting the girls' deeply troubled home lives. Girl B had been in care from the age of seven, living in various children's homes across Rochdale, while Girl A lived with her mother but had "no real home life to speak of." Both girls rarely attended school and frequently went missing, making them particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
The men convicted were mainly market stallholders and taxi drivers in Rochdale. Three of the abusers, Mohammed Zahid (64), Mushtaq Ahmed (67), and Kasir Bashir (50), were Pakistan-born stallholders at Rochdale Market. Zahid, known as "Bossman," ran a lingerie stall and used it to lure the girls, offering free underwear alongside money, alcohol, and food in exchange for sex. He was convicted of 20 offences, including multiple counts of rape, indecency with a child, and procuring a girl for unlawful sexual intercourse. Notably, Zahid had previously been jailed for five years in 2016 for sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl he met when she visited his stall.
Kasir Bashir was convicted in his absence and is currently wanted by police after absconding while on bail before the trial began. He was found guilty of four offences, including rape and indecency with a child. Mushtaq Ahmed was found guilty of nine offences, including multiple counts of rape and indecency with a child.
The other convicted men include Roheez Khan (39), Mohammed Shahzad (44), Naheem Akram (48), and Nisar Hussain (41). Khan, also Pakistan-born, had been previously convicted in a 2013 Rochdale grooming trial where he was jailed for six and a half years for sexually exploiting a vulnerable 15-year-old girl. In the current trial, he was found guilty of a single count of rape against Girl A. Shahzad, Akram, and Hussain, all taxi drivers, were convicted of multiple counts of rape and assault by penetration against Girl A. Police intelligence in early 2025 led to their bail being revoked amid fears they planned to leave the UK.
The court heard disturbing testimony from the victims. Girl A revealed she could have been targeted by more than 200 men, as her phone number was frequently swapped among abusers. She said, "there was that many it was hard to keep count." Girl B disclosed that social workers had labelled her a "prostitute" from the age of 10 and that police and social services were aware of her exploitation but failed to act adequately. She testified, "I was picked up by the police for loitering and prostituting from the age of 10," and added, "I don’t remember them being concerned enough to do anything about it. I remember knowing that they knew what was going on." Both girls described feeling that the abuse was "normal" at the time, with Girl B stating, "I just lay there and let them do what they did. I'd just close my eyes and pray it would all be over. It was just normal. I felt that was my purpose. I never saw it as anything unnatural." Girl A echoed this, saying, "I thought it was a normal thing. I didn't know it was abuse at the time."
The prosecution described the victims as "children passed around for sex, abused, degraded and then discarded," becoming "sex slaves." The men groomed and abused the girls at the market, shops, houses, warehouses, and even on the moors. The abusers introduced the girls to other men, including taxi drivers, further expanding the network of exploitation.
Greater Manchester Police’s Operation Lytton, the ongoing investigation into non-recent child sexual exploitation in Rochdale, led to these convictions. Since its inception in 2015, Operation Lytton, alongside an earlier inquiry called Operation Doublet, has resulted in the conviction of 32 offenders sentenced to a combined 300 years in prison. A further 20 men are scheduled to face trial starting September 2025. The dedicated Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigations Team, formed in 2021, comprises nearly 100 investigators working closely with partner agencies to support survivors and pursue offenders.
Detective Chief Inspector Guy Laycock, the senior investigating officer, paid tribute to the two survivors, stating, "They have been pivotal in bringing these abusers to long-awaited justice by bravely giving painful and difficult testimony during a four-month trial. Without them this would not be possible, and today is about them." He condemned the men for preying on vulnerable children for their own depraved sexual gain, saying, "They had a callous disregard for these women when they were girls, and continue to show no remorse for their unforgivable actions all these years later." Laycock also praised the thousands of hours invested by investigators to secure justice.
Assistant Chief Constable Steph Parker, GMP’s lead for protecting vulnerable people, acknowledged the profound failings of authorities at the time of the abuse, calling them "indefensible and inexcusable." She emphasized the progress made, stating, "We’re lightyears ahead of where we were, and we are totally focused on listening to survivors and continuing to further improve on our best practices which are now well-embedded." Parker assured survivors that "time is no barrier to justice" and that GMP remains committed to prosecuting offenders.
Liz Fell, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service’s Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, described the treatment of the victims as "nothing short of appalling," highlighting the men's exploitation of vulnerable children for sexual gratification. She praised the victims' courage, saying, "It is because of their bravery and fortitude that we have been able to bring these offenders to justice." Fell stressed that the convictions send a clear message that the CPS, in partnership with law enforcement, will relentlessly pursue justice for victims regardless of when the abuse occurred.
Rochdale Borough Council's Director of Children’s Services, Sharon Hubber, expressed sorrow for past failings, stating, "We know that these convictions are unlikely to erase the memories of the abuse these women were subjected to as children, but we hope they do bring some form of closure. We know that more could and should have been done by the people who were working here at the time, and for that we are truly sorry."
The NSPCC condemned the "appalling, ruthless exploitation" and emphasized the importance of children being able to speak out and adults recognizing the signs of grooming to prevent abuse. They noted that child sexual abuse has profound and long-lasting effects and stressed the need for specialist support for survivors to rebuild their lives.
The seven convicted men now face very lengthy prison sentences, with sentencing hearings expected to last three days. This landmark case underscores the ongoing commitment of Greater Manchester Police, the CPS, and partner agencies to bring historic child sexual exploitation cases to justice and to support survivors in their pursuit of closure and healing.
