Chilling moment member of 13-strong Somali prostitution gang checks in to a Premier Inn hotel before raping 13-year-old girl in a room with another man

• Jusuf Abdirizak, 20, and Said Zakaria, 22, raped girl three times in hotel
• They were members of a gang who abused four schoolgirls
• Three of the girls were white and one was mixed race
• They believed they were in relationships with the defendants
• Some were persuaded to have sex with their ‘boyfriend’s’ friends and told this was part of Somali ‘culture and tradition’
• Another victim, 16, had been placed in a city centre flat on her own
• Abusers used her home as a base to sell drugs
• Seven men were convicted of sex offences at trial in the summer
• Other six, plus Zakaria, who was involved in first trial, convicted yesterday
• They were in custody today and will be sentenced tomorrow
• A 14th man linked to the gang admitted supplying cocaine in first trial
• All of the men, though Somali in origin, were in the UK legally

By Lucy Crossley for MailOnline

Published: 11:35 GMT, 27 November 2014 | Updated: 23:15 GMT, 27 November 2014

This is the chilling moment a member of a 13-strong Somali prostitution gang checks into a hotel where he and a friend would rape a 13-year-old schoolgirl three times.

Jusuf Abdirizak, 20, can be seen at the reception of the Premier Inn in Bristol where he and Said Zakaria, 22, attacked the girl, who had been trafficked across the city having already been raped by another man.

Abdirizak and Zakaria were both facing jail today after they and 11 other men were convicted for their parts in the rape, abuse and prostitution of four British teenagers, who were were preyed upon and passed around the men’s friends for money.

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Several of the girls were groomed to the extent they believed the sexual abuse was part of loving relationships they were having with the defendants, and that having sex with their ‘boyfriend’s’ friends was part of their ‘culture and tradition’.

Of the four girls, three were white and one mixed race, with a fifth girl witnessing many of the sickening assaults.

The girls, aged between just 13 and 17 were in local authority care and fell into the evil clutches of the paedophiles who used the fear of rape to control them.

Some were persuaded to have sex with their ‘boyfriend’s’ friends as it was Somali ‘culture and tradition’ and ‘men always have sex with each other’s girlfriends’.

The victims, described as ‘vulnerable’ due to their age and circumstances, were paid as little as £30 or given drugs, alcohol and gifts to perform sex acts on older men.

A total of 14 men were convicted of charges including rape, sexual activity with a child, facilitating child prostitution, trafficking, paying for the sexual services of a child and drug offences.

Defendants were tried in two separate trials at Bristol Crown Court this year, with eight jailed for between 18 months and 13 years following the first one this summer.

The remaining seven men, were convicted by a jury yesterday following 32 hours and 17 minutes of deliberations, and will be sentenced at the court tomorrow.

The conviction of the men can be reported for the first time after the conclusion of a second trial at Bristol Crown Court.

The Bristol case comes after allegations, convictions and resignations over organised child abuse and exploitation across English towns and cities including Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and Telford.

Serious case reviews are now underway to try to understand how the girls became victims.

The Home Office does not comment on individual cases. However, all of the men are understood to have been in the UK legally, with the majority having been in the country since they were children and some were born here.

Avon and Somerset Police uncovered a two-year catalogue of abuse against 10 girls during their investigation into the Somali men, codenamed Operation Brooke.

The first trial centred on a group of Somali drug dealers based in the Stapleton Road area of Easton in Bristol and their exploitation of primarily one teenage girl.

She had been moved into a flat on her own in Bristol and left almost unsupervised by social workers from outside the city.

Police found her wearing just a bra and knickers cowering in a cupboard under a sink. She told them ‘they made me do stuff’.

Zakaria, who was known to his friends as Target, was involved in both the first and the second trials.

He admitted supplying cocaine and heroin but the convictions could not be reported until the end of the second trial because of the overlap.

The first trial heard how the abusers used the flat of the 16 year-old girl in Easton, Bristol as a base for supplying drugs.

She became the target of sexual exploitation, together with two sisters who would visit her.

It was only when the younger sister ran away from her foster parents, and police visited the flat looking for her, that authorities uncovered what was happening.

Mustapha Farah, 20, aka Greens, Liban Abdi, 21, alias Leftback, and Arafat Osman, 20, aka Lefteye, were convicted of preying on vulnerable teenage girls and paying for their sexual services.

Idleh Osman, 21, known as Sniper was found guilty of arranging or facilitating payment for sexual services of a child.

All four also pleaded guilty to a supplying heroin and cocaine.

Mustafa Deria, 22, and Abdulahi Aden, 20, known as Trigger, were found guilty of rape.

Aden was also found guilty of supplying cocaine and heroin, as well as admitting two counts of possession of indecent photos of a child.

Another man, Mohamed Jama, 23, known as Magic, admitted supplying cocaine with Zakaria who also admitted supplying heroin.

Greens, Lefteye and Trigger were given 13 years behind bars, Sniper, 10 years, Leftback 13 years and eight months and Deria, seven years six months.

A ninth man was acquitted.

The second trial focused on another group of young Somali men – but included Zakaria – and their grooming and subsequent sexual abuse of young girls in Bristol.

Mohamed Jumale, 24, Mohamed Dahir, 22, Zakaria, Abdizirak, Omar Jumale, 20, Abdirashid Abdulahi, 21 and Sakariah Sheik, 21, were all convicted of child sexual exploitation offences yesterday.

During this second trial, the court heard that Mohamed Jumale, known as Deeq, convinced girls it was ‘his tradition’ for the girl to have sex with his friends.

He was convicted of one count of rape, seven of sexual activity with a child and one of aiding or abetting another into the same offences.

Four of the counts were against victim A.

The court heard that the gang gave the girls money and paid for hear extensions and trips to restaurants and night clubs, then passed them around for sex.

Anna Vigars, prosecuting at Bristol Crown Court, said: ‘He wanted her to have sex with his friends, that that was his tradition, his culture and that that was what always happened.

‘Men always have sex with each other’s girlfriends. She didn’t believe him but that is the line he was feeding her.

‘She was saying no to him, telling him she wasn’t interested, but he made her have sex with all of the men.’

The court heard how the Somalis had ‘a good knack’ of preying on vulnerabilities and groomed their naive victims into thinking the men loved them and were their ‘boyfriends’.

The children began to believe the abuse they were subjected to was ‘normal’ and ‘expected of them’.

The court heard the despicable web began to unravel after booked a hotel room so they could take turns raping girl A in December 2012.

Zakaria and Abdirizak, who was nicknamed Starns, booked the room in the Premier Inn in Bristol.

Zakaria persuaded victim A and a friend to go there and he picked them up but took them first to a flat in Barton Hill, Bristol.

There A was raped by an unknown man before being driven to the hotel where she was taken to a room and told to strip so Zakaria could have sex with her.

She was pinned to a bed and lay with her eyes closed as he raped her once and then a second time, over the sink in the bathroom.

The girl went back into the bedroom where Abdirizak raped her.

A few months later Jumale then forced her to have sex with his brother Omar, telling her he was worried he wanted to ‘turn gay’.

Three other girls were also sexually assaulted by the defendants.

Zakaria was found guilty of two counts of rape, two of sexual activity with a child and one of trafficking, all related to A.

Abdirizak was also found guilty of raping A while in the hotel room.

Mohammed Dahir, 22, known as Kamal, was convicted of causing or inciting A into child prostitution.

Sakariya Sheik, 21, or Zac, was found guilty of one charge of rape, relating to victim D, and another of sexual activity with A.

Abdirashid Abdulahi, Abs, was also convicted of rape in relation to victim C.

Finally, Omar Jumble was found guilty of sexual activity with A.

Ms Vigars added: ‘Some of those girls knew each other, some didn’t, some had heard of each other.

‘But what these girls have in common is that they were used by these men for sex.

‘It is about the defendants simply using the girls to satisfy themselves whenever they felt like it, doing it so often that no doubt it began to feel normal as far as these girls were concerned.

‘There are elements of exhibitionism too with sex taking place in front of other people in the group. Much of it is sordid, none of it is romantic.’

The jury was read transcripts of a police interview with Zakaria in which he was asked about the incident at the Premier Inn.

‘Target’ claimed he did not know the girls were aged just 13 – insisting they were 16 and 17 – but admitted they had given the men oral sex in the hotel room.

He described both girls as ‘dirty slags’ and told police: “Now that’s all that happened that night and we left, they left with us and I don’t know why obviously it’s taken them this long to claim this.

‘I just think they feel, they feel a bit burnt because I’ve got to be honest with you, I used to speak to a lot of girls in Bristol and I’ve got to see all their true colours now, so I just told them all to f*** off, I’m being honest with you, sorry to swear, but I just told them all to hit the road.

‘They’re both slags innit, they’re both dirty slags, they got used and abused and now they’re saying rah, rah, rah, whose making them do anything they don’t want to do?

‘Everyone knows what they’re there for innit, they come there to s*** d*** and then f*** off, that’s what they come for.’

Judge Julian Lambert will sentence the seven defendants for the 20 charges they were convicted of, relating to four victims, tomorrow.

They were all remanded in custody after yesterday’s verdicts.

Two defendants, Jibril Mohamed, 21, and Dauud Osman, 19, were acquitted of the charges they faced.

The shocking case can only be reported for the first time today because restrictions placed upon the media were lifted at the conclusion of the second trial.

The investigation into 17 defendants was launched after police received information about the rapes in a Premier Inn hotel room.

Officers uncovered a two-year catalogue of abuse against British girls by Somali men in Bristol which started in 2011.

The intelligence-led investigation was assisted by members of the Somali community and vulnerable victims, who showed ‘remarkable courage’ coming forward to police.

Detective Inspector Gary Stephens, who led the investigation, said: ‘They were aged between 13 and 17 at the time of the offences.

‘Not all the victims knew each other but some had heard of each other. Some of the victims were being ‘passed around’ by the defendants and taken to venues specifically to be sexually exploited, sometimes for money.’

Chief Superintendent Julian Moss, head of Avon and Somerset Police’s CID department, said the 10 victims are all now being supported by specialist teams in Bristol.

‘I’d like to stress how important it is to remember that such vulnerable victims often don’t realise they’re being abused and don’t recognise the signs of abuse,’ he said.

‘Some of the victims in the second trial believed they were in ‘relationships’ with the defendants, adding to the complexity of their vulnerability.

‘The victims showed remarkable courage in giving evidence at this trial.’

The second trial featured six victims, one who was a witness in proceedings, who were abused at a number of locations across Bristol.

Evidence gathered by officers included phone, computer and social media, such as Facebook exchanges and text messages, and CCTV footage.

Howard Phillips, Senior Crown Prosecutor from the CPS South West Complex Casework Unit, said: ‘These cases have unmasked the horrors of child sexual exploitation and child abusers everywhere should take note of these convictions. Vulnerable young people were used by these men for their own gratification, convinced that what was happening to them was normal, and controlled through systematic abuse and the promise of drugs and affection.

‘The victims in this case have been incredibly brave in coming forward and giving evidence at court. I hope these results will stand as a testament to their bravery and give other victims the courage to come forward to the police secure in the knowledge they will be listened to. Every victim has a voice and deserves to have that voice heard.

‘Child sexual exploitation has a devastating impact, not only on the victims and their families but the communities in which both the victims and defendants live.

‘The CPS takes child sexual exploitation extremely seriously and we have worked closely with the police and other partners from the very beginning in order to bring the strongest possible case to court which has resulted in the conviction of 13 men.’

Barnardo’s South West & Midlands Director Hugh Sherriffe said: ‘Barnardo’s has worked closely with Avon and Somerset Police throughout this investigation to support the young victims through our BASE service in Bristol. Working together and sharing knowledge has enabled a successful outcome in this case.

‘Our dedicated team has provided personalised support to each of the young victims before and during court proceedings. We will continue to be there for them to aid their recovery from these horrendous crimes.’

Madeline Spicer, Victim Support’s witness service manager at Bristol Crown Court, said: ‘This is a horrifying case where vulnerable people, including children, were sexually exploited by nefarious men. We have been heavily involved supporting the victims in court as they gave the evidence that convicted these men.

‘All the victims spoke to the court via video link so they did not have to face their abusers, with one of our highly trained volunteers to support them. My team saw first hand just how difficult it was for those victims to relive the horrendous ordeal they’ve been through.’

Girl, 15, told she was ‘beautiful’ and pressurised into sex with strangers tells of her grooming ordeal at the hands of the gang

A young victim described to the court how the men pressurised her to have sex with strangers – telling her she was ‘beautiful’ and insisting they were the same age as her.

The girl, who is now aged 15, lost her virginity to Mohamed Jumale after being groomed by him from the age of 11 when she met him on Facebook.

Jumale, known as Deeq, later instructed her to have sex with his brother Omar Jumale and two other men under a bridge by a B&Q car park in Bristol.

He insisted it was ‘his tradition, his culture and it was what always happened’ and the girl was raped by the men, prosecutor Anna Vigars told the jury.

The girl was introduced to other defendants through a girlfriend, who she suspected was being prostituted to earn money for their drugs.

She described how the pair would go to Easton because ‘we had nothing else to do’ and met Said Zakaria, known as Target, on a number of occasions.

‘He said “how old are you?” and I said 14 and he said “the same”,’ the girl told the court.

‘He said he was the same age as me and I don’t lie about my age. When I first meet people I am always a bit scared and this time it was me and my friend and we were in a room with six other boys.

‘It was a bit scary. He asked me how I was and I said “I’m ok”.’

The girls went to the house on around 20 occasions from October 2012 and would listen to music, smoke cannabis, chew khat and chat with Zakaria and other men.

Her friend, who was a prosecution witness, would smoke cannabis, though the girl did not, and have sex with men in the house, Bristol Crown Court heard.

‘I think sometimes they might have been getting money from having sex from her,” she said.

‘If they would run out of weed that’s when she would have sex with them. That’s when they would get weed.

‘I saw one of the guys with money after she had sex with one. Whenever I mentioned it to her she changed the subject.

‘The man was about 40, he came, went into the bedroom with her, gave the man money and left.’

The victim told how the men tried to pressurise her into smoking cannabis with them and having sex with men at the property.

‘I didn’t want to be a mess like my friend when she smoked weed and I just didn’t want to end up like that, having sex with people,’ she said.

‘I didn’t want to have sex with anyone. She looked so tired after.’

During one of her visits to the house, the girl was sat on a sofa when a man began groping her leg.

She was told to ‘stop being boring and worried’ and the man, in his late 20s or early 30s, began pestering her for sex.

‘They were saying “have sex with him, he’s not going to hurt you, he’s a nice guy”,’ she said.

‘His eyes were red and he looked a mess. I was scared. I thought they were going to do what they had done to my friend and get me to have sex with him.

‘I thought he was probably going to rape me and no-one would hear.

‘He was saying “can I have sex with you” and I said “no, why would I have sex with you? I don’t know you” and he said “because you’re beautiful”.’

But by December 2012, the girl had become ‘used’ to being abused and, aged 13, was raped four times by three men in one evening.

She was first raped by a man at a flat in Barton Hill, Bristol then driven to a nearby Premier Inn in the city centre where she was attacked a further three times.

Zakaria raped the girl twice in the hotel room’s bathroom, as well as by Jusuf Abdirazak, who had booked the hotel for the night.

Mrs Vigars told the jury: ‘None of us want to think that, in a perfectly respectable hotel about half a mile from where we’re sitting now, a 13-year-old girl was raped three times in one evening by two different men, four times in one evening if you include what happened to her at Barton Hill.’

In a harrowing interview, the girl described how she was too terrified to scream during the attacks as other men were waiting just outside the bathroom.

‘I didn’t want them to know what was going on,’ the teenager said.

In early 2013, the victim began to confide in police what had been happening and an investigation was launched, with officers identifying Zakaria and other defendants.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2851680/13-Somali-men-convicted-running-inner-city-prostitution-ring-British-teenagers-abused-raped.html#ixzz3KMQwM6hV
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