A vile Asian grooming gang who raped and abused a vulnerable 13-year-old girl have had their “unduly lenient” sentences increased to keep them locked behind bars. The three men who repeatedly abused the terrified teenager in the 1990s have had their sentences increased by a total of eight years, after the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC referred the case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
The victim was targeted after moving to Keighley in the early 1990s by Ibrar Hussain, 47, and brothers Imtiaz, 64, and Fayaz Ahmed, 45. She was plied with money, drugs and alcohol in return for sex and was taken to various places where she was repeatedly raped by men over several years, including by Hussain and the Ahmed brothers. Hussain and Fayaz Ahmed were 18 and 17 respectively when they carried out their offences, while Imtiaz Ahmed was in his 30s.
Many of the offences took place in the flats above the brothers’ family’s grocery shop in the West Yorkshire town of Keighley.
In a Victim Impact Statement read to the court, the victim said that almost 30 years after the abuse, she still suffered flashbacks and the trauma left her unable to trust people, including the services there to protect her.
The court also learnt that Ibrar Hussain had prior drug convictions, while Fayaz Ahmed had been convicted of conspiracy to defraud and driving offences.
The increased sentence was welcomed by MP Sarah Champion whose constituency is Britain’s child abuse capital of Rotherham, but she warned she is seeing “no evidence” that the abusers are changing their behaviour.
Writing on X she said: “Child sex abusers sentences increased following intervention bu Solicitor General. Good! The reality is many abusers are now coming out of jail – I’ve seen no evidence that sex abusers change their vile behaviour, we can only manage them.”
The Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP said: “This case involved the shocking and hideous abuse of a vulnerable teenager by these three sexual predators.
“I referred these sentences to Court of Appeal because in my view they were unduly lenient.
“I attended court today for the hearing and I very much welcome the Court of Appeal’s significant increases to these sentences.
On 17 January 2025, Ibrar Hussain was sentenced to six years and six months for two counts of rape, Imtiaz Ahmed was sentenced to nine years for one count of rape, and Fayaz Ahmed was sentenced to seven years and six months for two counts of rape.
