Leader of Rotherham child abuse gang convicted of further rape of young girl

The leader of a gang that sexually exploited children in Rotherham has been sentenced again after a new victim came forward.

Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar, 42, was charged as part of Operation Stovewood, a series of investigations carried out after large-scale child sexual exploitation was uncovered in the South Yorkshire town.

Warning: This story contains descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.

He was initially sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2018 for sexual offences against three vulnerable victims between 1998 and 2005.

On Friday, Akhtar was again convicted of sexually abusing a victim between 2001 and 2003. The victim was 13 to 14 years old at the time.

In October, he pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault – one each relating to multiple incidents within the two-year period.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, which will be served concurrently with his existing sentence.

“Makes her feel nauseous”

Sheffield Crown Court heard that the victim – a “very vulnerable girl living in difficult circumstances” at the time of the offence – came forward after Akhtar’s conviction in 2018 was reported in the news.

Judge Sarah Wright said Akhtar targeted the child in Rotherham. The court heard he called her to his car and gave her drugs and alcohol.

The girl began to disappear and stay away from home.

Judge Wright told the court that the girl had performed sexual acts with him four to five times a week for about a year in his car and an apparently empty house in Rotherham.

She said on one occasion Akhtar and another man intimidated the girl and another “obviously desperate and unwilling” victim into performing sexual acts.

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The court also heard that the victim told police during her interview that she “feels sick whenever she sees anyone on the street who even remotely resembles the defendant”.

Michael Collins, mitigating the sentence, said Akhtar committed the offences before he married and had a child. He added that Akhtar had mental health problems that “make incarceration difficult”.

In passing sentence, Judge Wright said: “I commend the victim’s courage in coming forward after all this time.”

“Their childhood and youth can never be regained, the impact of (Akhtar’s) crimes on them cannot be overestimated.”