Duo 'sexually abused young girls after making contact over Snapchat'
The defendants have gone on trial accused of a total of 21 offences between them
A group of young girls aged between 12 and 15 were sexually abused by two men who groomed them using cash, alcohol, drugs and e-cigarettes, after making contact over Snapchat, a jury has been told.
Seven girls, some of whom were known to each other, are alleged to have been targeted and abused by defendants Bawan Harwe and Sharam Muhamadi.
In the case of some of the girls - all of whom are entitled to lifelong anonymity - the defendants are alleged to have abused the girls after Mr Harwe first made contact over Snapchat.
Prosecutors claim Mr Harwe used a profile bearing the name “Karo” and offered the girls incentives to meet including e-cigarettes and drugs. He is also said to have offered “free e-cigarettes” on a Snapchat story, alongside a picture of a large number of e-cigarettes.
After making contact with the girls, Mr Harwe is alleged to have met up with and committed sex offences against six of the seven girls, before “making them available” to Mr Muhamadi. He, too, is said to have used an alias, namely “Jack,” on Snapchat.
Defendants go on trial after denying 21 charges
The defendants have this afternoon (Monday, May 11, 2026) gone on trial at Sheffield Crown Court accused of a total of 21 offences between them, with both men accused of multiple counts of rape and trafficking charges.
The defendants, who appeared in the dock flanked by security guards and a Kurdish-Sorani translator, deny the charges.
Mr Harwe was aged 27 at the time of the alleged offence period, running between July and October 2024, whilst Mr Muhamadi was aged 19.
Opening the case against Mr Harwe and Mr Muhamadi, prosecutor Claire Holmes told the jury: “The defendant Harwe contacted some of these young girls using the messaging system Snapchat. Contact having been made he, Harwe typically offered the girls money, alcohol, drugs and or E cigarettes as incentives to meet.
“When they met Harwe engaged in sexual intercourse with all but one of them…Harwe then introduced, perhaps made available is a more appropriate expression, some of the girls to his friend and the second defendant Muhamidi.”
One of the girls recalled seeing Mr Harwe pull out a wad of money she estimated to be worth around £1,000 during a trip in which he took her to McDonald’s after picking her up in his car, the jury of eight men and four women have been told.
“Very young girls groomed, plied with alcohol & various drugs”
Ms Holmes said the “very young girls” were “groomed, plied with alcohol and various drugs and or effectively bribed by the older defendants to submit to various sexual indignities.”
One of the girls “blacked out” after being given alcohol by Mr Harwe, while another was “sick down his bed,” the jury were told.
Ms Holmes continued: “If those means did not achieve their goals then the girls were intimidated in various ways, for example not being allowed to leave where they were until Harwe had been sexually satisfied.”
The jury heard how Mr Harwe is alleged to have provided the youngest of the complainants, Girl E, with cocaine when she was aged 12, after she asked him to get her some.
“Although the seven girls met with the suspects willingly - in some or all of those circumstances the apparent consent to some of the sexual activities was achieved in fact by the defendants by the use of the substances which they provided to the girls.
“Accordingly, the sexual acts were perpetrated three ways: one either by submission, not as a result of true consent; two by the girls being unable to give consent due to being under the influence of drugs and alcohol; three, they were forced to have sex.
“In addition, the general imbalance of power, as exemplified in the large age differences between the males and females, the use of money and frequent gifts of it to the girls are factors we submit are not to be overlooked in situations such as these,” Ms Holmes told the jury of eight men and four women.
One of the girls, Girl F, is alleged to have been raped, after Mr Harwe said he would not let her - or her heavily intoxicated friend go.
Ms Holmes said: “He [Mr Harwe] said the only way he would let Girl G out is if Girl F had sex with him, so she did. Girl F was crying and saying stop it he didn’t stop and was hitting her.”
“If someone is crying it is obvious that they do not consent. If some only submits because it is the only way out that is not consent freely given.”
Girls transported to locations in order to facilitate sexual exploitation
In addition to abusing the girls, defendants Bawan Harwe and Sharam Muhamadi are alleged to have transported them from where they lived in South Yorkshire to addresses in Doncaster - where they were living at the time - along with other locations.
Prosecutors allege the girls were transported, or “trafficked”, in order to facilitate the sexual exploitation.
Some of the girls reported asking the defendants to stop communicating in a “foreign language.”
Jurors were told that one of the requests was made as two of the girls were being driven to Doncaster, and another as one of the girls was intoxicated and “spaced out,” in the midst of the abuse being carried out.
When bringing them to his Doncaster address, Mr Harwe is also alleged to have asked some of the girls to wear hats he provided, allegedly telling one of them “no-one can see you.”
In other cases, Mr Harwe reportedly told some of the girls to “duck down” in vehicles being driven by him, the court heard.
Following the alleged abuse, some of the girls were asked to leave Mr Harwe’s address hastily the following morning, often by taxi.
Jurors were also told that some of the girls woke up to find amounts of cash placed inside their bras.
Ms Holmes said “matters came to light” after one of the girls, Girl E, was reported missing, and disclosures were made after she, and Girl C, were located.
“[Girl C] disclosed to members of the police investigation team that she and [Girl E] had both had sex with two males when they were ‘out of it,’” Ms Holmes said.
The charges faced by the defendants:
Mr Harwe, now aged 28, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to one count of rape committed against a girl under 13 prior to the trial beginning.
He denies one further count of rape of a child under 13, along with: five counts of rape of a girl aged 13/14/15; two counts of adult meeting a girl under 16 years of age following grooming; two counts of false imprisonment and six counts of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view of exploitation.
Mr Muhamadi, now aged 20, of Hexthorpe Road, Doncaster, denies one count of rape of a girl aged 13/14/15; one count of rape of a girl under 13 and three counts of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view of exploitation.
The trial, which is expected to last around four weeks, continues.