Four men have been jailed for more than 22 years in total after sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl who was 'passed around like a piece of meat', sold for sex and raped.
The Asian grooming gang from Telford forced their victim to perform sex acts in a churchyard, raped her above a shop on a filthy mattress, and violently abused her when she tried to refuse their advances, a court heard.
In all, five men went on trial at Birmingham Crown Court, leading to convictions for four of the defendants while another was cleared.
Sentencing the defendants on Thursday, Judge Melbourne Inman QC told the defendants: 'Each of you knew this girl was utterly defenceless and was being used as a sex object by others.'
Addressing the ring-leader Mohammed Ali Sultan, he said: 'At the relevant time, the victim was very vulnerable. The evidence is she lost her father in April, 2001.
Pictured L-R: Mohammed Ali Sultan, Nazam Akhtar, Amjad Hussain, Mohammad Rizwan and Shafiq Younas
Shafiq Younas, 35 (left) was convicted of indecent assault and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison. Amjad Hussain (right) who was found guilty of a single count of indecent assault but cleared of a similar offence, was jailed for four-and-a-half years
'In the months following, she fell victim to another man who abused her, raped her and other men repeatedly abused her.
'You, Sultan, became aware of her vulnerability and her helpless position, and when the other man who controlled her left, you took control of her yourself.
'At the time, you were only 18 months older than she was. You were 15 or 16 yourself.
'By then she was so vulnerable she submitted to your demands.
'The victim was clearly extremely frightened of you, and you exercised significant control over her.
'Sometimes you reinforced your control by a slap or her hair being pulled to ensure obedience.
'She described how you pulled off her lower clothing and raped her in the back of a car.
'Your control caused others to commit sexual offences against her.
'It's clear on the evidence you told the victim to perform sexual acts with your associates.'
The victim, who is now an adult, said the abuse started when she was 12 but lasted until her mid-teens after she was befriended by a man named Tanveer Ahmed.
Mohammed Ali Sultan, 33, formerly of Telford, was convicted of rape and three counts of indecent assault. Mohammad Rizwan, 37, of Telford, was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault and caged for five-and-a-half years
She claimed she was traded between men and forced to perform sex acts in a churchyard and raped above a takeaway shop on a dirty mattress in Telford, Shropshire.
Mohammed Ali Sultan, 33, formerly of Telford, was convicted of rape and three counts of indecent assault at Birmingham Crown Court.
Today, he was jailed for eight years with an extended licence period of two years and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Sultan was also slapped with a restraining order preventing him from having contact with the victim indefinitely.
He already has previous convictions, in 2012 and 2015, for similar offences against young girls and an 18-year-old.
The current sentence will run consecutively to a six-year sentence he is already serving, giving a total of 14 years with an extended licence period of two years.
Mohammad Rizwan, 37, of Telford, was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault and caged for five-and-a-half years.
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