A child rapist convicted in the Rochdale grooming scandal has complained about prison life after being attacked twice behind bars – but his victims suffered far worse, for far longer.
Mushtaq Ahmed, 66, was one of seven men found guilty of the repeated grooming and rape of two vulnerable girls in Rochdale during the mid-2000s. The girls were abused in cars, alleyways, filthy flats and derelict buildings, passed around by men who treated them as “sex slaves”.
But during sentencing at Minshull Street Crown Court, Ahmed’s lawyer said the convicted child rapist was now scared for his safety after being beaten twice in prison. He told the court Ahmed had “no future”, had lost teeth on the right side of his face and now fears the rest of his sentence will be “difficult”.
Ahmed, from Oldham, was found guilty of four counts of rape, four of indecency with a child and one of procuring a girl for sex.
Another defendant, 65-year-old Mohammed Zahid, known as ‘Boss man’, was the only one to rape both girls. His defence appealed for a “humane sentence”, despite him already having served time for sexually abusing a different victim.
Roheez Khan, convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl, claimed he had been “influenced” by older men and struggled to fit in after moving to the UK.
Kasir Bashir, who was convicted of rape and indecency with a child, has now fled the country.
All seven men denied the charges. But a five-month trial earlier this year heard graphic and disturbing evidence from the women they abused as teenagers.
The final sentences are due to be handed down on Wednesday 1 October.
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