Operation Stovewood was launched in the wake of the Alexis Jay report, which was published in 2014 and described how at least 1,400 children in Rotherham had been subjected to grooming and abuse by gangs of men between 1997 and 2013. It also outlined how police and social workers had failed to step in.
It is a National Crime Agency operation, and is the single largest law enforcement investigation into non-familial child sexual abuse in the UK.
Over 200 arrests have been made since the operation was launched.
*If you are concerned about a child and believe they are being exploited, please report it to South Yorkshire Police so they can help.
You can get in touch with them by calling 101, or going online and using the force's chat function or online portal at: https://smartcontact.southyorkshire.police.uk/
Call 999 if they are in immediate danger.
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29. Salah Ahmed El-Hakam: Jailed for 15 years in November 2018
In October 2018, Salah Ahmed El-Hakam became one of six men convicted of multiple child offences, relating to the grooming and sexual exploitation of young girls in Rotherham and the surrounding areas. The 39-year-old received a 15-year sentence in 2018, after a jury at Sheffield Crown Court found him guilty of count of rape. El-Hakam, formerly of Tudor Close, Darnall, Sheffield, was convicted alongside Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar, Nabeel Kurshid and Tanweer Ali, all friends from Rotherham, were found guilty alongside Asif Ali. During the course of the 2018 trial, the court heard that the men befriended the girls, with some leading them to believe they were their boyfriends, before passing them around to be sexually abused by multiple offenders. The men would ply the girls with drugs and alcohol and threatened them with violence or being transported and abandoned in an unfamiliar location if they didn’t comply with the sexual demands. In victim impact statements, the girls told that the abuse was mainly carried out at night in a variety of secluded or derelict locations, including empty houses where there was no electricity. They were often sexually abused on mattresses on the floor and locked in rooms so that they couldn’t escape. One of the girls also recalled being driven to a remote spot by two of the men where one of them began to “grope” her. She explained that when she became distressed he said, “it’s better if you just get it over and done with and then you can go back home”. | Submit
30. Nabeel Kurshid: Jailed for 19 years in November 2018
In October 2018, Nabeel Kurshid became one of six men convicted of multiple child offences, relating to the grooming and sexual exploitation of young girls in Rotherham and the surrounding areas. The 40-year-old received a 19-year sentence in 2018, after a jury at Sheffield Crown Court found him guilty of two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault. Kurshid, formerly of Weetwood Rd, Broom, Rotherham, was convicted alongside Mohammed Imran Ali, Akhtar, Asif Ali, Iqlaq Yousaf and Tanweer Ali, all friends from Rotherham, were found guilty alongside Salah Ahmed El-Hakam, Asif Ali. During the course of the 2018 trial, the court heard that the men befriended the girls, with some leading them to believe they were their boyfriends, before passing them around to be sexually abused by multiple offenders. The men would ply the girls with drugs and alcohol and threatened them with violence or being transported and abandoned in an unfamiliar location if they didn’t comply with the sexual demands. In victim impact statements, the girls told that the abuse was mainly carried out at night in a variety of secluded or derelict locations, including empty houses where there was no electricity. They were often sexually abused on mattresses on the floor and locked in rooms so that they couldn’t escape. One of the girls also recalled being driven to a remote spot by two of the men where one of them began to “grope” her. She explained that when she became distressed he said, “it’s better if you just get it over and done with and then you can go back home”. | Submit
31. Darren Hyett: Jailed for nine years in October 2018
In October 2018, 60-year-old Darren Hyett was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexual activity with a child. Hyett, formerly of Broom Chase, Rotherham was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child following a 10 day trial at Sheffield Crown Court. Hyett was acquitted of four counts of rape, one count of perverting the course of justice and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. The jury could not reach a verdict on a further count of rape. The offences against a girl who was aged 15 when the abuse first started, took place between 2004 and 2007. The investigation proved Darren Hyett, who was aged 41 at the time, targeted and groomed the 15-year-old girl. He bought her gifts, gave her alcohol and cigarettes and regularly took her out in his taxi after collecting her from a children’s home. | Submit
32. Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar: Grooming gang ringleader jailed for 23 years in October 2018
In October 2018, Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar became one of six men convicted of multiple child offences, relating to the grooming and sexual exploitation of young girls in Rotherham and the surrounding areas. Following his conviction, South Yorkshire Police said Akhtar was the 'ringleader' of the grooming gang. The 42-year-old received a 23-year sentence in 2018, after a jury at Sheffield Crown Court found him guilty of a string of sex offences including rape; indecent assault; procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another; aiding and abetting rape and sexual assault. He is now facing more jail time after pleading guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault during a Sheffield Crown Court hearing held on October 17, 2023. Akhtar, formerly of Godstone Rd, Rotherham, was convicted alongside Nabeel Kurshid, Iqlaq Yousaf and Tanweer Ali, all friends from Rotherham, were found guilty alongside Salah Ahmed El-Hakam, Asif Ali. During the course of the 2018 trial, the court heard that the men befriended the girls, with some leading them to believe they were their boyfriends, before passing them around to be sexually abused by multiple offenders. The men would ply the girls with drugs and alcohol and threatened them with violence or being transported and abandoned in an unfamiliar location if they didn’t comply with the sexual demands. In victim impact statements, the girls told that the abuse was mainly carried out at night in a variety of secluded or derelict locations, including empty houses where there was no electricity. They were often sexually abused on mattresses on the floor and locked in rooms so that they couldn’t escape. One of the girls also recalled being driven to a remote spot by two of the men where one of them began to “grope” her. She explained that when she became distressed he said, “it’s better if you just get it over and done with and then you can go back home”. | Submit