Two men jailed for raping teenage girl in Rotherham

Two men have been jailed for raping a teenage girl in Rotherham more than two decades ago.

Kessur Ajaib, 44, received eight-and-a-half years for one count of rape and one count of indecent assault. Mohammed Makhmood, 43, got a seven-year sentence for one count of rape.

Their convictions relate to the same victim, who was aged between 14 to 16 at the time.

Sheffield Crown Court heard in July that after Makhmood raped the girl, he called her demeaning names, spat at her and laughed at her.

The pair were sentenced at the same court on Monday after being found guilty alongside another man, Sageer Hussain, in the summer.

Hussain was convicted of raping a different victim, who the National Crime Agency (NCA) said was aged "about 14" at the time. Last month he received a three year jail sentence at Sheffield Crown Court for the crime, committed when he was also 14.

The NCA investigated the men as part of Operation Stovewood, the investigation into grooming and child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

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Sky News north of England correspondent, Fraser Maude, was at court to report on the case.

He said: "The victim was in court today to see these men sentenced for the crimes against her.

"A statement was read out by the prosecution barrister, in it she spoke of how for years I didn't know I was being abused because it was happening to so many other girls around me.

"She said she spent years in denial, blaming herself, blaming her family.

"She spoke of her fear, embarrassment, shame and heartache that she suffered as a result of her abuse, and she described herself as a brainwashed and vulnerable girl who was treated like a sex commodity.

"The judge referred to that victim witness statement as he gave his sentencing remarks.

"He said that they could only be described as tragic. He said that the pair had abused the vulnerability of this young girl."

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