The grooming-gangs scandal is a stain on the British state 


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The Rochdale Grooming Gang

Mohammed Zahid, a clothes stall owner in Rochdale, was part of a grooming gang that exploited and abused vulnerable girls. The gang, comprised of Pakistani-born stallholders and taxi drivers, used gifts and alcohol to lure victims, including two 13-year-old girls known to social services and the police.

The abuse, which spanned nearly 25 years, involved rape and sexual exploitation in various locations. The convictions of Zahid and six others on 30 counts of rape underscore the severity of the crimes and the systemic failures that allowed the abuse to occur for so long.

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MOHAMMED ZAHID ran a clothes stall in Rochdale market, and a grooming gang. He employed vulnerable girls, offering them gifts of alcohol and underwear, and targeted others when they came to buy tights for school. Along with his friends, who included other Pakistan-born stallholders and taxi drivers, Mr Zahid then treated the children as sex slaves, raping and abusing them in shops, warehouses and on nearby moors. Among his victims were two 13-year-old girls. One was in care; both were known to social services and the police. On June 13th, almost 25 years after the abuse began, Mr Zahid and six others were convicted of 30 counts of rape.

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