Rotherham brothers plied young girls with alcohol before raping them in places including barn and alleyways
Two brothers plied vulnerable young South Yorkshire girls with drink before raping them in locations including alleyways.
Now, Mark Evans, aged 36, and Robert Evans, 40, have been convicted of rape, after a jury found them guilty of the crimes which happened over a two-year period, starting in 2006.
It follows a National Crime Agency investigation.
The men, aged 18 and 21 around the time, intimidated girls and plied them with drugs and alcohol before luring them to locations where they attacked them, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
The brothers were arrested in August 2020 after officers from the NCA’s Operation Stovewood, examining historic sexual abuse in Rotherham, investigated allegations made by three victims.
Specially-trained NCA officers spoke with the women after identifying they were potentially victims.
Two of the women subsequently told specialist investigators they were raped by both brothers.
One of them was 13 at the time. She was given alcohol by Mark Evans, who raped her in a disused barn.
The same woman was attacked by Robert Evans several months later, when he lured the girl to a house in Rotherham by lying that one of her friends would be there.
Robert Evans plied her with alcohol as they travelled to the house. Once Evans had the victim alone at the house, he raped her. She recalled he seemed amused by this.
Another woman recalled how she too was raped by both brothers when she was 14.
She recounted how Mark Evans walked with her one evening. As they passed through an alleyway he raped her.
She was later lured by Robert Evans to a house. At the house, Robert Evans forced another girl into a bathroom and raped her, the court heard.
The third victim was aged 13 when Mark Evans began grooming her by giving her alcohol and drugs. He took her into an alleyway where he had sex with her.
The men denied the offences when NCA investigators arrested them. But after a two-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court, the brothers were found guilty of rape. Mark Evans was also found guilty of sexual activity with a child and assault by penetration.
NCA Senior Investigator Kim Boreham said: “Our investigation uncovered the extent to which the Evans brothers used manipulation to lure young girls away from safety, into places where they were at the men’s mercy.
“The victims bravely described how the brothers abused them in the worst ways, showing no remorse afterwards. It was extremely difficult for the victims to re-live the abuse but with their courageous testimonies we were able to investigate the brothers’ crimes and ensure they faced justice.”
While the men were awaiting trial, officers from Operation Stovewood also arrested and charged their sister Ann Marie Evans, 29, of Barnsley, under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, after ascertaining she had published social media posts identifying two of the victims.
All victims of sexual offences are by law granted automatic life-long anonymity.
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Senior Investigator Boreham added: “Victims are number one priority in our investigations. It takes a lot of courage for victims of sexual abuse to speak up, and we will always hold to account anyone who attempts to intimidate or identify them.”
Ann Marie Evans was convicted and sentenced in 2023.
The Evans brothers are due to be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on January 16.